puny

English

Etymology

Variant form of puisne.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /pjuːni/
• Rhymes: -uːni

Noun

puny (plural punies)

1. (obsolete) A new pupil at a school etc.; a junior student.
2. (obsolete) A younger person.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:

     a law that the eldest or first borne child shall succeed and inherit all: where nothing at all is reserved for Punies, but obedience [...].

3. (obsolete) A beginner, a novice.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Fuller to this entry?)

4. (archaic) An inferior person; a subordinate.

Adjective

puny (comparative punier, superlative puniest)

1. Of inferior size, strength or significance.
   • Shakespeare

     A puny subject strikes at thy great glory.

   • Keble

     Breezes laugh to scorn our puny speed.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:scrawny

Translations

of inferior size

• Catalan: feble (ca), escarransit (ca), desnerit (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 微小 (cmn) (wēixiǎo)

• Dutch: nietig (nl), nietige (nl)

• Finnish: mitätön (fi), vähäpätöinen (fi)
• Luxembourgish: krappeg (lb)
• Maori: pūkiki (mi)
• Russian: крохотный (ru) (króxotnyj)
• Spanish: flojo (es), tirillas (es), gualtrapas (es)

See also

• punny – relating to a pun

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin pugnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA: [puɲ]

Noun

puny m (plural punys)

1. fist