midshipmite

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Blend of midshipman +‎ mite?

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun[edit]

midshipmite (plural midshipmites)

  1. (nautical, slang, archaic) A little or petty midshipman.
    • 1836, [Frederick Marryat], “In which our hero and Gascoigne ought to be ashamed of themselves, and did feel, what might be called midshipmite compunction”, in Mr. Midshipman Easy […], volume III, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, page 127:
      CHAPTER VII. In which our hero and Gascoigne ought to be ashamed of themselves, and did feel, what might be called midshipmite compunction.
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