mince

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Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Old French mincier (French: émincer), from Vulgar Latin *minutiare, from Late Latin minutiæ.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

Singular
mince

Plural
countable and uncountable; plural minces

mince (countable and uncountable; plural minces)

  1. (uncountable) Finely chopped meat.
  2. (uncountable) Finely chopped mixed fruit used in Christmas pies.
  3. (countable) A short, precise step.
  4. (countable) An affected manner.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to mince

Third person singular
minces

Simple past
minced

Past participle
minced

Present participle
mincing

to mince (third-person singular simple present minces, present participle mincing, simple past and past participle minced)

  1. (transitive, cooking) To cut into very small pieces; to chop fine.
  2. (transitive) To suppress or weaken the force of; to extenuate; to palliate; to tell by degrees, instead of directly and frankly; to clip, as words or expressions; to utter half and keep back half of.
    I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say — "I love you."Shakespeare
  3. (transitive) To affect; to make a parade of.
  4. (intransitive) To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner.
    The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, mincing as they go. --Is. III. 16.
    I'll turn two mincing steps into a manly stride.Shakespeare
  5. (intransitive) To act or talk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner.

[edit] Usage notes

Current usage in the sense of "weaken the force of" is limited to the phrase "mince words"; e.g., "I won't mince words with you".

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

[edit] See also

mincemeat, mince pie

[edit] References


[edit] Czech

[edit] Noun

mince f.

  1. coin

[edit] Related terms


[edit] French

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Adjective

mince (epicene, plural minces)

  1. slim, slender

[edit] Interjection

mince !

  1. drat!, darn!
  2. wow!, blimey!