pettyadj.n.
/ˈpɛti/, U.S. /ˈpɛdi/ A. adj.† II. Senses relating to relative size.
I. Senses relating to relative importance.
1.
a. Of secondary or lesser importance, rank, or scale; minor; subordinate. Now chiefly in historically fixed collocations (e.g. petty officer n.).Recorded earliest in petty watch n. at Compounds 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective]
evil971
lowc1175
poor?c1225
feeblec1275
vilea1300
petty1372
unthende1377
secondary1386
petitc1390
unmeeta1393
illa1400
commonc1400
coarse1424
indigent1426
unlikelyc1450
lesser1464
gross1474
naughty1526
inferior1531
reprobate?1545
slender1577
unlikely1578
puny1579
under1580
wooden1592
sordid1596
puisne1598
provant1601
subministrant1604
inferious1607
sublunary1624
indifferent1638
undermatched1642
unworthy1646
underly1648
turncoated1650
female1652
undergraduate1655
farandinical1675
baddishc1736
ungenerous1745
understrapping1762
tinnified1794
demi-semi1805
shabby1805
dicky1819
poor white1821
tin-pot1838
deterior1848
substandard1850
crumby1859
cheesy1863
po'1866
not-quite1867
rocky1873
mouldy1876
low-grade1878
sketchy1878
midget1879
junky1880
ullaged1892
abysmal1904
bodgie1905
junk1908
crap1936
ropy1941
bodger1945
two-star1951
tripey1955
manky1958
schlocky1960
cack1978
wank1991
bowf1994
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > on a small scale
petit1442
petita1500
petty1552
small-scale1852
one-horse1853
one-horsey1884
petitea1886
small time1915
1372 Rolls of Parl. II. 314/2 De chescun Hundred des Countees sur la Mer sont trovez sur la garde de Mier pur Enemys alienz certeins gentz q'est appelle Petti-Wacche.
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 247 Signes as peti sacramentis.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Giiiv The principall braunches, the .vii. gyftes of the holy goste: the .iiii. pety braunches, the .iiii. cardinall vertues.
1552 Ordre Hospital S. Bartholomewes sig. E.vv Suspicious men..as shalbe thought to bee petie pickers.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 204/2 He [sc. Edgar] being at Chester, viii. kinges (called in histories Subreguli) to wit, petykings, or vnderkings: came and did homage to him.
1598 J. Marston Certaine Satyres in Metamorph. Pigmalions Image 64 But thus it is when pitty Priscians Will needs step vp to be Censorians.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 284 Aden and Zibyth, two pettie Kingdomes in Arabia.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 79 William Wickwane, Arch-Bishop of York..esteemed a petty-saint in that Age.
1659 A. Wood Life & Times (1891) I. 273 An alehouse or pettie-inne for travellers, called The Checquer.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 70. ¶4 The Barons, who were then so many petty Princes.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 20 I fly from petty tyrants to the throne.
1831 J. W. Croker in Croker Papers 5 Apr. (1884) II Petty shopkeepers and small farmers.
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar viii. 70 Mithridates was once more a petty Asiatic prince existing upon sufferance.
1907 Catholic Encycl. I. 292/1 The petty tyrants who were devastating the States of the Church.
1992 I. Berlin et al. Free at Last 264 The presence of federal troops..created new customers for artisans, tradesmen, and small-scale merchants. These petty proprietors included a number of former slaves.
b. spec. in Law.Frequently in the names of the lesser of two (or more) parallel offences, official positions, or tribunals: see Compounds 1b.
ΚΠ
1496 Rolls of Parl. VI. 513/1 An Acte to make some Offences Petty Treason.
1533 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Court of Requests (1898) 37 All the Tenauntes within the seid manour haue vsid..to plede..within the same manour by pety writte of righte close for all maner of pleys towching their landes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. i. 50 And I [was banished], for such like petty crimes as these. View more context for this quotation
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xvii. sig. Gg7v Those petty Thefts for which Judges condemn Men.
1725 New Canting Dict. at Peter-Lay Rogues who follow Petty Thefts, such as cutting Portmanteaus, &c. from behind Coaches.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. 313 The proper process on an indictment for any petty misdemesnor, or on a penal statute, is a writ of venire facias.
1799 W. Render tr. F. Schiller Robbers v. iii. 171 I have been no common murderer, my God! I have not committed petty crimes, gracious God!
1833 New-Eng. Mag. Dec. 506 We hear of no petty thefts.
1872 E. W. Robertson Hist. Ess. 118 A Tything, or Tenmantale, of the Hundred, in which a Decanus, annually chosen in the Hundred-court, presided in the petty court in the place of the Tungreve.
1938 G. Greene in Spectator 12 Aug. 161 264/2 It isn't a gang which would usually get further than an occasional petty theft for bravado's sake.
1978 Audubon Jan. 192/1 (advt.) Vandalism and petty theft are increasing.
2002 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman (Nexis) 17 Nov. k5 A man decides to do a little low-key marijuana transportation with his friend, a biker and petty criminal.
c. Of, relating to, or designating a small or minor school or the lowest form of a school; (originally) spec. of, relating to, or designating a school for small boys, a junior or preparatory school (now historical). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > school > [adjective] > preparatory
petty1555
preparatory?1649
1555–6 Louth Rec. (1891) 140 Item paide..at suche tyme as the petie scole was in making, xls.
1578 Will in M. E. Grimwade Index Probate Rec. Court of Archdeaconry of Sussex (1984) ii. 491 Gilbert Sargent, petty teacher, Bury St. Edmunds.
1598 Melton Mowbray Townwardens' Accts. in Trans. Leicestershire Archit. & Archaeol. Soc. (1874) 3 410 Item payd to Mr. Chauntler the xxj of December, 1598, for his paynes that he tooke with the pettye scollers..1s.
1599 R. Hakluyt tr. E. de Sande in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. ii. 93 All priuate and pety-schooles.
1627 W. Hawkins Apollo Shroving V. v. 91 Let her foure wheeles carry Apollos curse with her, that none of her kindred shall euer get aboue the petty forme of Apollos schoole.
1718 Mem. Life J. Kettlewell i. ii. 9 He was first put to a petty School.
1746 Brit. Mag. 112 He was placed..near the Bottom of the Petty-Form.
1818 J. Bentham Church-of-Englandism 116 The career..from the petty form at Eton or Westminster, up to the examining Chaplain's study.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 105/1 The academy of the arts at Modena..dwindled into a petty school for drawing from living models.
1976 Econ. Hist. Rev. 29 685 Little is said about the development of Puritanism..while the discussion of education ignores such topics as petty-schools, book-ownership and literacy.
2.
a. Of little importance, insignificant, trivial. Frequently depreciative.
ΚΠ
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions Ep. Ded. sig. ivv I know your Maiesties pacience to be exceeding great in very petie arguments.
1582 T. Watson Ἑκατομπαθία: Passionate Cent. Loue Ep. Ded. In turning out this my pettie poore flocke vpon the open common of the wide world.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. i. 12 Your Argosies with portlie sayle..Doe ouer-peere the petty traffiquers. View more context for this quotation
1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar ii. 124 Extirpate petty curiosities of apparell, lodging, diet.
1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 ccxiii. 54 His birth, perhaps, some petty Village hides.
1756 G. Washington Let. 9 Nov. in Writings (1931) I. 500 Every petty person must assume command, direct and advise: otherwise he takes huff, thinks his wisdom and merit slighted.
1779 S. Johnson Denham in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets IV. 31 Most of these petty faults are in his first productions.
1848 C. Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. xi. 138 Slaughtered bickering for some petty town.
1890 C. Gross Gild Merchant I. 149 General dealers in petty wares.
1936 D. Carnegie How to win Friends & influence People III. i. 154 I suppose that this is a very petty matter in comparison with the really important and difficult decisions you are required to make.
2004 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 21 Feb. 13 I found his comment insulting, not simply because it portrayed debt as a petty matter.
b. Of persons, their behaviour, etc.: characterized by an undue concern for trivial matters, esp. in a small-minded or spiteful way. Cf. petty-minded adj. Now usually depreciative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > paltry, mean, or contemptible > fussing or small-minded
fistinga1535
petty1597
whiffling1613
leguleian1615
fiddle-faddle1617
leguleious1660
pottering1720
poking1748
niggling1827
poky1828
whifflegig1830
niggly1840
pistareen1860
petty-minded1927
1597 F. Bacon Ess. f. 8v Commonly it is lesse dishonourable to abridge pettie charges then to stoupe to pettie gettings.
a1642 J. Suckling Poems 36 in Fragmenta Aurea (1646) 'Tis petty Jealousies, and little fears.
1713 R. Steele Guardian No. 20. ⁋8 Our petty animosities.
1788 Amicable Quixote IV. 108 Friendship between women cannot subsist;..there is a petty jealousy, and a fickle disposition, which destroys a union.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller II. 112 Those petty evils which make prosperous men miserable.
1861 Dental Cosmos 2 445 Entertain no ulterior motives, or resort to petty policy to secure lucrative ends.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. viii. 142 It is rather petty to link such an element to the name of an Italian doctor.
1908 E. M. Forster Room with View xvii. 264 She grew more and more vexed at his dignified behaviour. She had counted on his being petty.
1984 A. Thwaite Edmund Gosse x. 292 Collins belonged to the school of petty carping and fault-finding.
2000 T. Robbins Fierce Invalids 45 Someone stronger and wiser..can..show us how petty and pompous and monumentally useless it is to take ourselves so seriously.
3. Small in size or stature, little; below the ordinary or normal size; = petit adj. 1. Obsolete.Recorded earliest in Petty Bag n.Frequently (esp. in Scottish use) before a proper name, as part of a nickname.The English regional evidence recorded for petty-pan n. might be taken to suggest the continued currency of this sense into the early 20th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > smaller than usual or standard size
petty1393
small1525
scrubby1591
undersized1706
underlinga1722
underline1750
under-size1820
manikin1840
underhanded1856
small1877
sawed-off1887
sawn-off1936
1393 in J. Raine Fabric Rolls York Minster (1859) 130 Domino Johanni de Ravenser er Symoni de Gauntstede, clericis del petibag, pro duabus cartis regiis concessis Capitulo, 11 l. 19 s.
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xvii. 84 (MED) Pouerte is a pety [v.rr. pite, petit] þyng, apereþ nat to hus nauele.
c1475 Advice to Lovers in J. O. Halliwell Select. Minor Poems J. Lydgate (1840) 45 (MED) Go, pety quaier, and war where thou appere.
1494 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 233 Pette Johnne.
a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) 2025 (MED) Lo, here a purse full of piper..To se þi-selfe a similitude how all þees softe granes So vnder-put [be] all þe pake of þis pete cornez.
1522 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 327 Other habordasher [perh. = haberdash ware] and pitimarchandis broght by marchant estrangers commyng to this citie.
1531 Privy Purse Exp. Hen. VIII (1827) 128 Itm the same daye paied to pety John the mynstrell, in Rewarde at Grenewiche iij li. vj s. viij d.
1587 in H. Brugmans Correspondentie van R. Dudley (1931) 306 The States ar now presently addressing furth of a pety army of some 5000 foot and 1200 hors.
1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ Def. Conny-catching sig. C3v The Alewife vnlesse she nicke her Pottes and Conny-catch her guestes with stone Pottes and petty Cannes, can hardly pay her Brewer.
1633 Edinb. Reg. Sasines XX. f. 343v Johne Hope alias pittae Johne.
B. n.
1. † a. A small boy at school; a boy in a lower form. Also in extended use. Usually in plural. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > schoolboy > young or junior
petitc1451
petty1571
breeching-scholar1611
lower boy1778
under-boy1843
1571 in R. H. Gretton Burford Rec. (1920) iii. 557 The Nomber of gramarian Schollers Besyde the peties doe nott exceade above the Nomber of fortie.
1589 ‘Marphoreus’ Martins Months Minde To Rdr. sig. B Some of them..were the Petties and Punies of that schoole, whereof old Martin was the master.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. iii. xliv. 117 There were the schooles for peties kept, of reading and writing.
1607 Statutes in M. H. Peacock Hist. Free Gram. School Wakefield (1892) 71 This schole is not ordained for petties but for grammarians.
1617 J. Minsheu Ἡγεμὼν είς τὰς γλῶσσας: Ductor in Linguas (at cited word) A Petie in his crosse rowe..an ABC scholler.
1619 W. Sclater Expos. 1 Thess. (i. 4) 26 Euen of such petties [corrected by Erratum from parties] amongst vs, Papists haue taken notice so farre, as by them to make our Church odious.
a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) i. 37 Mr. Lamb..came by holding fast to Fortune's middle finger, from a schoolmaster that taught petties, to a Proctor in Christian Courts.
1853 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1854) I. iv. 33 A junior ensign being no more familiar with the commander-in-chief at the Horse-Guards..than the newly-breeched infant in the Petties with a senior boy in a tailed coat.
b. A school or class for small boys. See also petty form, petty school A. 1c. rare. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > primary school
under-school1629
primer schoola1680
proseminary1774
primary school1792
dame-schoola1817
pettya1827
ma'am-school1838
elementary school1841
primary1851
prep school1862
minding-school1864
junior school1871
tother school1881
marm school1889
preparatory1904
terakoya1909
prep1924
prepper1956
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > division of pupils > form or class
form1560
first forma1602
remove1718
shell1736
sixth-form1807
lower sixth (form)1818
pettya1827
grade1835
the twenty1857
baby class1860
standard1862
nursery class1863
primer1885
reception class1902
sixth form1938
reception1975
a1827 W. Hickey Mem. (1913) I. ii. 13 I however soon got out of that disgraceful and ignorant form, passed with rapidity and eclat the under and upper petty, and entered into the upper first.
1961 R. Williams Long Revol. 133 The ‘petties’ or ‘ABCs’ were proper schools.
2. colloquial and regional. An outside lavatory, a privy. Cf. little house n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun]
gongOE
privy?c1225
room-housec1275
chamber foreignc1300
wardrobea1325
privy chamberc1325
foreignc1390
siegec1400
stool1410
jakes1432
house of easementa1438
kocayc1440
siege-hole1440
siege-house1440
privy house1463
withdraught1493
draught1530
shield1535
bench-hole1542
common house1542
stool1542
jakes house1547
boggard1552
house of office?1560
purging place1577
little house1579
issue1588
Ajax1596
draught-house1597
private1600
necessary house1612
vault1617
longhouse1622
latrine1623
necessary1633
commonsa1641
gingerbread officea1643
boghouse1644
cloaca1645
passage-house1646
retreat1653
shithouse1659
closet of ease1662
garderobe1680
backside1704
office1727
bog?1731
house of ease1734
cuz-john1735
easing-chair1771
backhouse1800
outhouse1819
netty1825
petty1848
seat of ease1850
closet1869
bathroom1883
crapper1927
lat1927
shouse1941
biffy1942
shitholec1947
toot1965
shitter1967
woodshed1974
1848 M. J. Stanley Let. 27 Sept. in N. Mitford Ladies of Alderley (1938) 206 If these houses had been built by his Lordship every one would have had his petty, at all events dividing the odour.
1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire 292 Petty, a water-closet.
1942 S. O'Casey Pictures in Hallway 53 Johnny hated these dirt-hawks who came at stated times to empty out the petties and ashpits.
1961 E. Williams George ii. xi. 151 Mam..hated the petty for being attached to next door's.
1971 G. Avery Likely Lad i. 13 ‘Going outside’ meant only one thing, a visit to the petty at the bottom of the yard.
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 251/2 Petty, an outside toilet.
Compounds
C1.
a. † petty average n. Nautical Obsolete a small charge over and above the freight incurred in the shipment of goods; cf. average n.2 2.† petty bouget n. Obsolete (probably) = Petty Bag n.† petty boy n. Shoemaking Obsolete a shoemaker's tool (see quot. 1688).† petty-brain n. [after scientific Latin cerebellum cerebellum n.] Anatomy Obsolete rare the cerebellum.† petty dancers n. Obsolete the aurora borealis.† petty exchange n. Obsolete the exchange of one type of coin for another.† petty John n. Obsolete something small, esp. a small point.† petty master n. [after French petit maître petit maître n.] Obsolete (a) a dandy, a fop; (b) a minor, secondary, or insignificant master. cf. petit maître n.† petty orders n. Obsolete the minor orders in an ecclesiastical hierarchy, esp. the Roman Catholic hierarchy (see order n. 2a).† petty-point n. Scottish Obsolete = petit point n.† petty watch n. Obsolete a coastguard.† petty-weal n. [after commonweal n.] Obsolete rare a minor state, province, etc.† petty world n. Obsolete the microcosm; = little world n.
petty apartheid n. [compare Afrikaans klein apartheid small apartheid] originally and chiefly South African the manifestations of apartheid experienced in everyday life, esp. the segregation of public facilities.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [noun] > racism > segregation or discrimination
discrimination1819
colour discrimination1868
colour bar1869
segregation1903
plural democracy1939
apartheid1947
parallel development1950
separate development1955
petty apartheid1964
1964 Des Moines (Iowa) Reg. 16 June 8/3 By contrast with ‘petty apartheid’, which consists largely of Jim Crow laws and practices, ‘grand apartheid’ aims at permanent partition of South Africa between ‘black’ and ‘white’ areas.
1966 Cape Argus 8 Apr. 14 While separate development proceeds so slowly, the Government, for home consumption, makes demonstrations of strength on the petty apartheid front.
1991 A. Van Wyk Birth of New Afrikaner 81 Petty apartheid was the way the grand design found gratuitous expression daily in a variety of measures which prescribed for blacks separate taxis, buses, trains..and entrances to public places, denying them admission to ‘white’ restaurants, hotels..and other facilities.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > [noun] > carriage of goods, etc. > by ship > charges other than for freight
averagec1503
petty average1848
1676 C. Molloy De Jure Maritimo ii. ix. 256 Petty Averidge is another little small Duty which Merchants pay to the Master when they onely take Tunnage, over and above the Freight.
1755 N. Magens Ess. Insurances I. 72 To the petty, or accustomary Average..belong Lodemanage, Towage and Pilotage.
1840 T. C. Haliburton Let. Bag Great Western (U.K. ed.) xiii. 152 Premium of insurance would be reduced by underwriters on the policy by this means, and brokerage saved also, as well as the amount of petty average of anxiety.
1848 J. Arnould Law Marine Insurance II. iii. v. 988 Charges..which occur regularly in the usual course of the voyage..are called petty averages.
ΚΠ
?1548 Wyll of Deuyll sig. Aivv To euerie of these pety Bouget men of Lawe and Tearmers, a couple of Geldynges.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making footwear > [noun] > equipment or materials for > equipment > other
thumb-stall1589
stopping sticka1600
dresser1600
heel-block1600
rubbing pin1600
stopper1600
petty boy1688
shoe-bench1841
shoe hairs1859
fudge-wheel1874
shoe-hammer1875
size-stick1875
trimming-machine1877
heel breaster1879
slugger1892
waist-hammer1895
waist-iron1895
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 292/1 A Petty Boy, or a Shoomakers petty Boy..Instruments belonging to the Cordwiners Occupation: and are used generally for their burnishing and smoothing down the Stitches, and to pair pieces of Leather upon.
1839 J. Devlin Shoemaker 112 Petty-boy or seam slicking stick (3d).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > nervous system > cerebrospinal axis > brain > parts of brain > [noun] > cerebellum
cerebellum1565
after-brain1615
cerebel1621
brainlet1663
petty-brain1663
parencephalos1704
hindbrain1715
parencephalon1890
1663 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) iii. Introd. 127/1 The contained [parts] are the Brain, the Petty-brain [L. cerebellum], and the Marrow.
petty cash n. an accessible store of money, esp. as kept by an organization for expenditure on small items.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > funds or pecuniary resources > [noun] > petty cash
petty cash1715
till-money1891
1715 R. North Gentleman Accomptant (ed. 2) 21 A school-Boy, bid to accompt for his petty Cash, will naturally fall in to do it so.
1721 J. Sawbridge Exact Particular & Inventory 7 By Petty Cash per sundries.
1834 J. Bowring Minor Morals, Story Perseverance 139 Jonas kept what is called the petty cash in the merchant's counting-house, that is, he was charged with the payment of all the small sums for the ordinary expenses of the business.
1902 W. H. Chantrey Theatre Accounts ii. 24 There seems no necessity in a Theatre to have a Petty Cash Account.
1993 Photo Answers Jan. 55/3 Money's a nice by-product, though I never see any, I just carry a few bob petty cash.
2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 14 Mrs Marr says I can take it out of petty cash.
petty cash book n. a book for recording petty cash transactions.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > other types of account book
journal1540
bankers' book1585
shop book?1594
waste-book1613
cash-book1622
counter-book1622
pay-book1622
copybook1660
audit-booka1680
bankbook1682
transfer-book1694
malt-book1710
pay list1757
petty cash book1827
passbook1833
stock book1835
guard book1839
tommy book1841
bought-book1849
in-clearing book1872
out-clearing book1882
out-book1884
trial-book1890
1827 Times 8 June 4/4 Mr. Blount here read some items from the petty cash book.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 166 He went towards the window and, taking up the petty cash book, scanned its pages.
1996 Which? Guide to starting your own Business (new ed.) vi. 100 The petty cash book is a record of small out-of-pocket expenses paid by you or your staff in the course of work.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > luminous appearance > [noun] > aurora > aurora borealis
dancing-goats1563
petty dancers1635
streaming1694
north-light1706
aurora borealis1717
dancersc1717
northern morning1717
northern lights1722
aurora septentrionalis1728
northern dawn1728
northern light1728
morris dancers1735
streamers1735
north-shine1738
fire-flaught1787
boreal dawn1805
northern morn1822
firelights1845
1635 L. Foxe North-west Fox sig. Cc3 This night..were many Pettiedancers, I hope faire weather to come.
1635 L. Foxe North-west Fox sig. Aa2 At clocke 12 there was Pettiedancers or henbanes (as some write them) North in the firmament, betokening a storme to follow within 24 houres.
1728 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 303 I am told that these Meteors are much more common in the North of England than here, and that they go by the Name of Streamers, Merry Dancers, or Petty dancers.
ΚΠ
1682 J. Scarlett Stile of Exchanges 2 This Exchange is two-fold, viz. An Exchanging of Monyes for Monyes, one Coyn or sort for another; and a giving of Money upon Exchange for a Bill, &c. The former of these is Petty Exchange, the latter Real.
petty farm n. now historical a minor source of government revenue; = petty custom n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > market dues > [noun] > farming of petty customs
petty farm1600
1600 Cullery Admittance Bks. in Trans. Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeol. Soc. (1883) 6 309 Item the rent of the cullerie or pettye farmes of the cittye.
1682 E. Chamberlayne 2nd Pt. Present State Eng. (ed. 11) 234 The Commissioners..have the whole Charge and Management of all His Majesties Customs (the Petty-Farms excepted) in all the Ports of England.
1757 S. Paterson Catal. Coll. Manuscripts Sir. J. Caesar 92 Sir Lionel Cranfield's proposal touching the petty farm of currants.
1979 Econ. Hist. Rev. 32 11 Between 1632 and 1640 the farms of wines and currants were linked together as a ‘petty farm’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > of little importance or trivial
gnatc1000
ball play?c1225
smalla1250
triflec1290
fly1297
child's gamec1380
motec1390
mitec1400
child's playc1405
trufferyc1429
toyc1450
curiosity1474
fly-winga1500
neither mass nor matins1528
boys' play1538
nugament1543
knack?1544
fable1552
nincety-fincety1566
mouse1584
molehill1590
coot1594
scoff1594
nidgery1611
pin matter1611
triviality1611
minuity1612
feathera1616
fillip1621
rattle1622
fiddlesticka1625
apex1625
rush candle1628
punctilio1631
rushlight1635
notchet1637
peppercorn1638
petty John1640
emptiness1646
fool-fangle1647
nonny-no1652
crepundian1655
fly-biting1659
pushpin1660
whinny-whanny1673
whiffle1680
straw1692
two and a plack1692
fiddle1695
trivial1715
barley-strawa1721
nothingism1742
curse1763
nihility1765
minutia1782
bee's knee1797
minutiae1797
niff-naff1808
playwork1824
floccinaucity1829
trivialism1830
chicken feed1834
nonsensical1842
meemaw1862
infinitesimality1867
pinfall1868
fidfad1875
flummadiddle1882
quantité négligeable1885
quotidian1902
pipsqueak1905
hickey1909
piddle1910
cream puff1920
squat1934
administrivia1937
chickenshit1938
cream puff1938
diddly-squat1963
non-issue1965
Tinkertoy1972
1640 R. Brome Sparagus Garden ii. iii I have a many small jests, petty Johns, as I call 'hem.
1653 J. Cleveland Char. Diurnal-maker 3 It is a maxime..that the only way to win the game is to play Petty Johns.
1678 V. Alsop Melius Inquirendum ii. v. 235 To call them [sc. Christ's institutions] the Circumstantials, the Accidentals, the minutes, the Punctilio's, and, if need be, the Petty-Johns of Religion.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > dandy
popa1500
miniona1513
prick-me-daintya1529
puppy?1544
velvet-coat1549
skipjack1554
coxcomb1567
musk cat?1567
physbuttocke1570
Adonis?1571
Adon1590
foretop1597
musk-cod1600
pretty fellow1600
sparkc1600
spangle-baby1602
flash1605
barber-monger1608
cocoloch1610
dapperling1611
fantastica1613
feather-cock1612
trig1612
jack-a-dandy?1617
gimcrack1623
satinist1639
powder puffa1653
fop1676
prig1676
foplinga1681
cockcomb1684
beau garçona1687
shape1688
duke1699
nab1699
smirk1699
beau1700
petty master1706
moppet1707
Tom Astoner1707
dapper1709
petit maître1711
buck1725
toupee1727
toupet1728
toupet-man1748
jemmy1753
jessamy1753
macaroni1764
majoc1770
monkeyrony1773
dandyc1780
elegant1780
muscadin1794
incroyable1797
beauty man1800
bang-up1811
natty1818
ruffian1818
exquisite1819
heavy swell1819
marvellous1819
bit of stuff1828
merveilleux1830
fat1832
squirt1844
dandyling1846
ineffable1859
guinea pig1860
Dundreary swell1862
masher1872
dude1877
mash1879
dudette1883
dand1886
heavy gunner1890
posh1890
nut1904
smoothie1929
fancy-pants1930
saga boy1941
fancy Dan1943
1706 tr. J. B. Morvan de Bellegarde Refl. upon Ridicule 200 A sort of Petty Master, that thinks himself very Modish.
1885 Times 4 June 9/5 When one petty master has been ejected ruined, there are others in plenty to hire the superfluous factory.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrament > order > [noun] > minor
petty orders1728
minor orders1845
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Orders The Petty, or Minor Orders, are four; viz. those of Porter, of Exorcist, of Reader, and of Acolythes. Those in Petty Orders may marry without any Dispensation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > embroidery or ornamental sewing > stitch > other
chain-stitch1598
French knot1623
picot1623
petty-point1632
tent-stitch1639
brede-stitch1640
herringbone stitch1659
satin stitch1664
feather-stitch1835
Gobelin stitch1838
crowfoot1839
seedingc1840
German stitch1842
petit point1842
long stitch1849
looped stitch1851
hem-stitch1853
loop-stitch1853
faggot stitch1854
spider-wheel1868
dot stitch1869
picot stitch1869
slip-stitch1872
coral-stitch1873
stem stitch1873
rope stitch1875
Vienna cross stitch1876
witch stitch1876
pin stitch1878
seed stitch1879
cushion-stitch1880
Japanese stitch1880
darning-stitch1881
Kensington stitch1881
knot-stitch1881
bullion knot1882
cable pattern1882
Italian stitch1882
lattice-stitch1882
queen stitch1882
rice stitch1882
shadow-stitch1882
ship-ladder1882
spider-stitch1882
stem1882
Vandyke stitch1882
warp-stitch1882
wheel-stitch1882
basket-stitch1883
outline stitch1885
pointing1888
bullion stitchc1890
cable-stitchc1890
oriental stitchc1890
Turkish stitchc1890
Romanian stitch1894
shell-stitch1895
saddle stitch1899
magic stitch1900
plumage-stitch1900
saddle stitching1902
German knot stitch1903
trellis1912
padding stitch1913
straight stitch1918
Hungarian stitch1921
trellis stitch1921
lazy daisy1923
diamond stitchc1926
darning1930
faggot filling stitch1934
fly stitch1934
magic chain stitch1934
glove stitch1964
pad stitch1964
1632 in 14th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1896) App. iii. 235 Ane waistcott of grein taffitie, wroght with pettie-point.
1697 in Sc. Notes & Queries 2nd Ser. 2 90 A large cushion of pettie point.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Pettie-point, a particular sort of sewing stitch.
petty rent n. now historical rent paid in addition to service, as opposed to rent in chief, or quit-rent; the system of charging such a rent.
ΚΠ
1569 Chamberlain's Accts. in J. Webb Town Finances Elizabethan Ipswich (1996) 89 Res[eyved] of the peti rentes due to the towne as by the particuler extreite appereth vj li. v d.
1656 W. Dugdale Antiq. Warwickshire 522 For in 5 E[dward]. 3. several persons of this town had leave to amortize divers particular petty Rents thereunto, which they charged upon certain Houses and lands situate within the compasse thereof.
1776 J. Philipot Villare Cantianum (ed. 2) 210 The reason of this..was..as an acknowledgement of the service and fealty they owed them, because they held their lands by some petty rent, charge, or homage, of some principal manor.
1873 Times 3 Feb. 12/2 [He] would in Burmah become a peasant-proprietor..of as much land as he chose to cultivate at a petty rent under a benevolent landlord.
1975 Jrnl. Econ. Hist. 35 716 He would therefore most probably opt for a mixture of labor services and petty rents.
petty tithe n. now historical any of the tithes not included among the great tithes (see great adj., n., adv., and int. Compounds 1e), comprising personal tithes, mixed tithes, and some predial tithes, and typically due to the vicar of the parish; = small tithe n. at small adj. and n.2 Compounds 4.
ΚΠ
1546 in W. Page Certificates Chantries County of York (1895) II. 228 The sayd incumbent hathe..all offerynges and pety tythes.
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. xv. 253 Double fees..are more considerable then petty Tithes.
1766 T. B. Burr Hist. Tunbridge-Wells ix. 157 The parishioners are exempted from petty tythes.
1906 J. Kennedy Manor & Parish Church Hampstead v. 68 The second Lord Campden..had leased the petty tithes to him for his life-time on a fine of £60.
2000 D. A. Spaeth Church in Age of Danger iii. 78 Clerics..usually owned petty tithes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > watching or keeping guard > [noun] > one who watches or keeps guard > one who guards the coast > force employed to guard coast
petty watch1372
coastguard1833
Hooligan Navy1922
1372 [see sense A. 1a].
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun] > small or petty
petty-weal1628
statelet1851
micronation1992
1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer 202 Should the Common~wealth herself oppose These corporations..it would scarce obtaine That pow'r which could these Petty-weales restraine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > [noun] > as pattern of the universe
less worlda1387
microcosmosa1500
petty world1602
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small > a small thing > microcosm or microworld
microcosmos1562
microcosm1590
petty world1602
worldkin1834
microworld1923
1602 J. Beaumont Metamorph. Tabacco sig. C There remaining did no more respect Our petie world with nought but trifles deckt.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 7 A pettie world within himselfe.
1610 Historio-mastix ii. i. sig. B3v For this aboundance pow'd at Plenties feet, You shall be Tetrarchs of this petty world.
b. Law. In the names of the lesser (or least) of two (or more) parallel offences, tribunals, or legal agents (frequently opposed to grand or high). (In many cases these collocations are earlier attested with petit (see petit adj. and n. Compounds 1).)
petty constable n. now historical an officer of a parish or township whose duties included being a keeper of the peace; a parish constable.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > law-enforcement or peace-officer > [noun] > constable > of a parish or tithing
tithingmanlOE
Petty Constable1472
tithemana1475
thirdborough?c1475
petty constable1574
parish officer1646
parish watcha1745
1574 B. Rich Right Exelent Dialogue Mercury & Eng. Souldier sig. Gvi Euerye petye Constable of euerye Parrysh within his cyrquet.
1629 Vse of Law 10 in J. Doddridge Lawyers Light Whosoeuer is Lord of the Hundred Court..is to appoint in euery Village, a pettie Constable with a Tithingman to attend in his absence.
1736 G. Berkeley Disc. Magistr. in Wks. (1871) III. 430 From the supreme executor of the law down to a petty constable.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. vii. 370 Papists were..prohibited from being high or petty constables.
1991 Past & Present Aug. 54 The high constables were instructed to send sets of articles to all petty constables.
petty juror n. a member of a petty jury.
ΚΠ
1500 Act 11 Hen. VII xxiv Yf ye sayd party defendaunt or ye pety Iurours or ony of them apere not vpon ye distres then the graund Iury to be taken ageynst theym & euery of them yt shall so make defaute.
1670 W. Penn Truth rescued from Imposture 55 In like manner Petty-Jurors, that have given their Verdict contrary to their Evidence, have been fined by the Justices.
1793 Duty of Citizens in Present Crisis v. 48 I have never declined acting either as a grand or petty juror.
1875 Times 23 Mar. 4/5 No citizen..shall be disqualified for service as a grand or petty juror in any Court of the United States.
1989 Newsday (Nexis) 21 Jan. 13 Judges consorted with the legislators whose appeals from the severe assessments of petty jurors they and all present devoutly hoped the higher courts would never be pressed to review.
petty jury n. now U.S. a jury of twelve people which tries the final issue of fact in civil or criminal cases and pronounces a verdict.
ΚΠ
1500 Act 11 Hen. VII xxi The Iurour or Iurours of the sayd pety Iury that ys founde so defectyf..shall lose forfeyt and pay to the playntyf or plantifs named in the sayd atteynt .x. tymes the value of that somme.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. 34 Every Court of Justice, whose just resolutions, and every petty Jury, whose upright verdicts obliege the King..may be truely said to be above the Kings person.
1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 250. ¶8 Good Men and true for a Petty Jury.
1801 Times 17 Jan. 3/3 The Coroner had acted very properly in sending this case to a Petty Jury.
1887 Cent. Mag. Oct. 963/1 The little country court-room, where a petty jury sits to decide a matter of debt or ownership of property.
1997 San Antonio (Texas) Express-News (Nexis) 14 Nov. 4 b This grand jury is a petty jury with an inordinate sense of justice.
petty larceny n. (in many U.S. states and formerly in Britain) theft of personal property having a value of less than a legally specified amount.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > petty theft or pilfering > [noun]
micherya1393
mitchinga1393
picking1402
purloining1417
pilferc1425
pickery1460
pilfering1548
filching1567
lurching1570
pilfery1573
petty larceny1578
filching-tradea1592
prigging1591
filchery1607
nimming1607
sneaking-budge1699
pilferage1732
cabbaging1774
weeding1819
pilferment1823
crib1855
filch1877
souveniring1919
1578–84 Court Bk. Lyme Regis (modernized text) f. 279 Hedgebreakers..for the third offence..shall be whipped about the town, as such persons ought to be which commit pekery and petty larceny.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 96 Pety larceny, as robbing mens horteyards, & gardens of fruite.
1592 R. Greene Blacke Bookes Messenger sig. Bv Filching, pettilashery, and such trifling toyes.
1637 in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS Comm. App. Pt. IV: MSS Duke of Rutland (1888) I. 498 in Parl. Papers (C. 5614) LXIV. 1 Such a cuning peti larceny of fripery hear as amazes us all.
1724 Pattern of Modesty 15 There will be no occasion to try him for petty larceny.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. vii. 155 You are not charged with any petty larceny, or vulgar felony.
1948 E. Pound Pisan Cantos lxxiv. 12 Petty larceny In a regime based on grand larceny Might rank as conformity nient'altro With justice shall be redeemed.
2001 D. Lehane Mystic River 343 Predictable shit follows as the father is arrested on petty larceny.
petty serjeanty n. English History a form of feudal tenure obliging the tenant to render a minor or ceremonial service to the monarch.
ΚΠ
1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor Pettie Sergeantie, a tenure of lands, holden of the king, by yeilding to him, a Buckler, Arrow, Bow, or such like seruice.
1760 Biographia Britannica V. 2977/1 These were in the nature of royalties.., except petty serjeanties.
1901 Times 5 Dec. 9/4 Altogether superior to the acts of service constituting tenure by petty serjeanty.
1987 Compar. Stud. Society & Hist. 29 521 The categories of English feudal tenure were more formally defined—villeinage, socage, knight service, grand serjeanty, petty serjeanty [etc.].
petty sessions n. British (also occasionally in singular) (originally) a court held by two or more justices or a stipendiary magistrate, exercising summary jurisdiction in minor offences within a particular district (now historical); (now) a magistrates' court for the summary trial of certain offences.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > [noun] > court of justices of peace
sessions of the peacec1405
justice court1490
petty sessions1562
magistrates' court1867
1562–3 Act 5 Eliz. c. 4 §40 That it shalbe laufull to the Highe Constables of Hundredes in every Shire, to holde kepe and contynue Petie Sessions, otherwise called Statute Sessions.
1699 Poor Man's Plea against Price of Corn 23 Our Country Alehouse-making Justices at their Petty-Sessions, Quarter, and General Sessions.
1787 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Norfolk I. 40 The High-Constable of the Hundred in which a statute is held, holds,..what is called a ‘petty sessions’; at which the hiring [of servants] and its attendant circumstances are, or may be, registered.
1844 Act 7 & 8 Victoria c. 101 §2 Such Justice of the Peace shall thereupon issue his Summons to the Person..to appear at a Petty Session.
1993 S. MacAughtry Touch & Go ix. 73 I was there, at the Petty Sessions. Saw him, so I did.
petty treason n. now historical the crime of murdering someone to whom the murderer owed allegiance, such as a master or husband.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > treachery or treason > [noun] > against a subject
petty treason1496
petit treason1605
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > specific offences > [noun] > treason > offences related to treason
petty treason1496
misprision of treason1533
petit treason1605
statutory treason1678
constructive treasona1715
treason-felony1865
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > undutifulness > treachery > [noun] > treason > petty
petty treason1496
petit treason1605
1496 [see sense A. 1b].
1530 1 Act 22 Hen. VIII c. 14 §8 No person arrained for any pety treason, murder, or felony be..admitted to any peremytorie chalenge aboue the nombre of xx.
1633 P. Massinger New Way to pay Old Debts iii. ii. sig. G2v How! strike a Iustice of peace? 'tis pettie treason. Edwardi quinto.
1778 Ann. Reg. 1777 183/2 Joseph Armstrong was tried for petty treason, in poisoning his master's lady.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. I. i. 27 The law..stepped in to prevent a proceeding which it regarded as petty treason to the commonwealth.
2003 Evening Herald (Plymouth) (Nexis) 17 Jan. 62 The play is based on a true story of a women named Mary Reed, whom records refer to as the last woman in history to be tried for petty treason.
c. In names of plants, chiefly those that are small in comparison with related species.† petty cotton n. [after Middle French petit coton] Obsolete rare a kind of cudweed.† petty coy n. Obsolete rare a kind of cudweed, perhaps Filago minima (cf. petty cotton n.).† petty gladdon n. Obsolete rare a small sword-leaved plant, perhaps an iris or sedge.† petty madder n. Obsolete rare any plant of the genus Crucianella (family Rubiaceae).† petty mugget n. [after Middle French petit muguet] Obsolete lady's bedstraw, Galium verum.† petty mullein n. Obsolete a primula; esp. a cowslip.† petty panic n. Obsolete rare a canary grass ( Phalaris species).
ΚΠ
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. lxii. 90 Of Gnaphalion or Small Cotton..It may be called also Pety Cotton, or small Bombase: in French Petit Coton.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > cudweeds
horewortc1400
chafeweed1548
chafewort1548
cudweed1548
cudwort1548
cartafilago1551
cottonweed1562
downweed1562
petty cotton1578
small cotton1578
file-wort1597
live forever1597
livelong1597
life-everlasting1629
white plantain1687
petty coy1736
cat's-foot1739
owl's crown1787
1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ I. (at cited word) Petty coy (herb), Gnaphalium minus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > iris and related flowers > gladioli or freesia
gladiolec1420
corn-flag1578
corn-sedge1597
lily-grass1597
sword-grass1598
petty gladdon1601
sword-lily1786
Afrikaner1801
freesia1879
kalkoentjie1906
painted lady1906
Afrikander1913
glad1923
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 92 The pety Gladen or Sword~grasse.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 99 In the range of these bulbous and onion~rooted plants, some place the root of Cyperus, that is to say, of Gladiolus (i. Petie-gladen, Flags, or Sword-wort)[L. cypiri, hoc est gladioli, radicem].
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Rubiaceae or Galiaceae (bedstraw, etc.) > [noun]
wild madderc1450
crudwort15..
Our Lady bedstraw1527
Our Lady's bedstraw1543
galion1548
maidenhair1548
purple goose-grass1548
cheese renning1578
crosswort1578
golden mugget1578
petty mugget1578
lady's bedstraw1585
maid's hair1597
cheese rennet1599
runnet1678
field madder1684
mugweed1690
rondeletia1739
Richardia1755
petty madder1760
madderlen1770
galium1785
Sherardia1785
joint-grass1790
mugwort1796
bluet1818
bedstraw1820
madderwort1845
hundredfold1853
honeywort1863
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 318 Petty Madder, Crucianella.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 352 Crucianella, a genus of herbaceous plants, called Crosswort and Petty Madder.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Rubiaceae or Galiaceae (bedstraw, etc.) > [noun]
wild madderc1450
crudwort15..
Our Lady bedstraw1527
Our Lady's bedstraw1543
galion1548
maidenhair1548
purple goose-grass1548
cheese renning1578
crosswort1578
golden mugget1578
petty mugget1578
lady's bedstraw1585
maid's hair1597
cheese rennet1599
runnet1678
field madder1684
mugweed1690
rondeletia1739
Richardia1755
petty madder1760
madderlen1770
galium1785
Sherardia1785
joint-grass1790
mugwort1796
bluet1818
bedstraw1820
madderwort1845
hundredfold1853
honeywort1863
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. lxxv. 539 In French, Petit Muguet... We may also name it Pety Muguet.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 968 In English our Ladies Bedstraw, Cheese renning, Maides Haire, and petie Mugwet.
1665 R. Lovell Παμβοτανολογια (ed. 2) 292 Mug-wet, see Woodroof. Petty mugwet, see Ladies bedstraw.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants II. 191 [Galium] verum..Yellow Ladies Bed Straw. Cheese Rening. Petty muguet. Yellow Goosegrass.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 762/1 Mugget, Convallaria majalis. Mugget, Petty, Galium verum.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > primrose and allied flowers > primrose or auricula
primrosea1425
primula1526
petty mullein1578
bear's ear1597
bear's ear sanicle1597
bird's eye1597
mountain cowslip1597
rock rose1597
French cowslip1629
auricula1655
polyanthusa1678
polyanth1757
Scotch primrose1777
plumrose1787
plumrock1789
bird's eye primrose1796
Chinese primrose1825
dusty miller1825
Jack-in-the-box1850
Jack in the green1875
polyanthus primrose1882
boar's-ears-
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. lxxxiii. 123 The petie Mulleyns are called..in English Cowslippes, Primeroses, & Oxelips.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. cclx. §7. 637 They are commonly called..in English pettie Mulleins, or Palsie woorts, of most Cowslips.
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole xxv. 247 In some countries they call them Paigles, or Palsieworts, or Petty Mulleins, which are called Cowslips in others.
1874 Victoria Mag. May 8 The cowslip was sometimes called paigle, petty-mullein, and palsywort.
ΚΠ
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 85 I haue as yet heard no English name of Phalaris, but for lak of a better name it may be called peti panik, of the likenes that it hath with the ryght panic.
petty rice n. rare quinoa.
ΚΠ
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products 284/1 Petty-rice, a name in Peru for the white seeds of Chenopodium quinoa.
1996 Chiltern Seeds Catal. 56 Quinoa. Petty Rice. Cultivated since ancient times in the Andes of South America.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > grandson
neveeOE
daughter sonOE
nephewc1325
nepotea1525
little son1570
grandson1573
neposa1600
petty-son1611
grandboy1837
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > nephew or niece > [noun] > nephew > one's son's or daughter's nephew
great-nephew1580
petty nephew1611
mokopuna1824
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xxiv. 836/1 One being petty Nephew, the other grand-child of Francis the first.
1625 W. Lisle tr. G. de S. Du Bart Noe 124 Joktan, the double Pety-son of Sem, that is whose double grandfather Sem was.
1724 H. Wanley Diary 19 Nov. (1966) II. 321 My petty-Niece came (as she did once before) with my Leave; & I shewed her some more of the Rarities of this Place.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1372