[ 'mɪnəskju:l ]
■ adjective
1》 extremely tiny.
2》 of or in lower-case letters, as distinct from capitals or uncials.
↘of or in a small cursive script of the Roman alphabet, with ascenders and descenders, developed in the 7th century AD.
■ noun ~ script.
↘a small or lower-case letter.
Derivatives
minuscular mɪ'nʌskjʊlə adjective
Origin
C18: from Fr., from L. minuscula (littera) 'somewhat smaller (letter)'.
Usage
The correct spelling is ~ rather than miniscule . The latter is a common error, which has arisen by analogy with other words beginning with mini- , where the meaning is also ‘very small’.