/ban"teuhm/ , n.
1. ( often cap. ) a chicken of any of several varieties or breeds characterized by very small size.
2. a small and feisty or quarrelsome person.
adj.
3. diminutive; tiny: bantam editions of the classics.
[ 1740-50; appar. after BANTAM, through which such chickens may have been imported to Europe ]
Syn. 3. miniature, small, petite, wee, pygmy, Lilliputian.