lilliputian

See also: Lilliputian

WOTD – 19 March 2006

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌlɪlɪˈpjuʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

lilliputian (plural lilliputians)

1. A very small person or being.

   • 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.

2. (genetics) A fruit fly gene that, when mutated, makes cells abnormally small. See AFF2.

Derived terms

• lilliputianism

Translations

small person or being

• Arabic: قَزَم m (qazam)
• Finnish: lilliputti (fi)
• French: lilliputien (fr) m, lilliputienne (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Liliputaner (de) m, Liliputanerin f
• Russian: ка́рлик (ru) m (kárlik) (dwarf), лилипу́т (ru) m (lilipút)

See also

• tiddler
• munchkin

Adjective

lilliputian (comparative more lilliputian, superlative most lilliputian)

1. Very small, diminutive
2. Trivial, petty

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:tiny

Antonyms

• Brobdingnagian

Translations

very small

• Finnish: lilliputtimainen
• French: lilliputien (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: liliputanisch