lilliputian

WOTD – 19 March 2006    

See also Lilliputian

English

Etymology

From the name of a fictional island called Lilliput in the novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /ˌlɪlɪˈpjuʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

lilliputian (plural lilliputians)

1. A very small person or being.
   • 1726, Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part II, Chapter I

     I reflected what a mortification it must prove to me, to appear as inconsiderable in this nation, as one single Lilliputian would be among us.

Translations

small person or being

• Arabic: قزم (ar) (qázam) m
• Finnish: lilliputti (fi)

• Russian: карлик (ru) (kárlik) m (dwarf), лилипут (ru) (lilipút) m

See also

• tiddler
• munchkin

Adjective

lilliputian (comparative more lilliputian, superlative most lilliputian)

1. Very small, diminutive
2. Trivial, petty

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:tiny

Antonyms

• brobdingnagian

Translations

very small

• Finnish: lilliputtimainen (fi)

• French: lilliputien (fr)