puny

English

Etymology

From Middle French puisné. See puisne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pjuːni/
• Rhymes: -uːni

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Adjective

puny (comparative punier, superlative puniest)

1. Of inferior size, strength or significance; small, weak, ineffective.

   You puny earthlings are no match for Ming the Merciless!

   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     A puny subject strikes at thy great glory.

   • (Can we date this quote by Keble and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Breezes laugh to scorn our puny speed.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:scrawny

Translations

of inferior size

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

  Mandarin: 微小 (zh) (wēixiǎo), 弱小 (zh) (ruòxiǎo)

• Danish: sølle (da)
• Dutch: nietig (nl), nietige (nl), klein (nl), zwak (nl), ijdel (nl)
• Finnish: mitätön (fi), vähäpätöinen (fi)
• French: chétif (fr), frêle (fr)
• German: kümmerlich (de), schwächlich (de), klein (de), mickrig (de), kläglich (de)
• Greek: μικρός (el) (μικρός), αδύνατος (el) (αδύνατος), μικροκαμωμένος (el) (μικροκαμωμένος)
• Irish: aimlithe
• Italian: gracile (it), sparuto (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: ちっぽけな (ja) (chippoke na), 虚弱な (ja) (きょじゃくな, kyojaku na), 弱々しい (よわよわしい, yowayowashii)
• Korean: 자그마하다 (ko) (jageumahada)
• Latin: pusillus
• Luxembourgish: krappeg
• Maori: pūkiki, kaurehe, rehe
• Norwegian: ynkelig
• Polish: wątły (pl)
• Portuguese: franzino (pt), fraco (pt), pequeno (pt)
• Russian: кро́хотный (ru) (króxotnyj), кро́шечный (ru) (króšečnyj)
• Spanish: flojo (es), tirillas (es), gualtrapas
• Swedish: ynkligt liten

Noun

puny (plural punies)

1. (obsolete, Oxford University slang) A new pupil at a school etc.; a junior student.
   • c. 1610, anonymous author, “The Election of the Prince”, in Boas Frederick Samuel, editor, The Christmas Prince, London: Malone Society, published 1923, page 3:

     […] others to make sporte w^th all of this last sorte were they whome they call Fresh-menn Punies of the first yeare, […]

2. (obsolete) A younger person.
   • Template:RQ:Florio Montaigne Essayes
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.

Synonyms

• (new pupil): fresher, freshman, new bug, novi (Tonbridge School), shadow (Westminster School)
• (beginner): newb, rookie, tenderfoot; see also Thesaurus:beginner
• (subordinate): junior, underling, vassal

See also

• punny – relating to a pun

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Catalan

Etymology

From , from Latin pugnus, from Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos, *puḱnos, from *pewǵ-, *peuḱ- (“prick, punch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈpuɲ]

Noun

puny m (plural punys)

1. fist

Related terms

• punyal
• punyeta

Further reading

• “puny” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “puny”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “puny” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “puny” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.