quick spelling lesson

[ajva]

Good grief, people don't half make a lot of mistakes with the word minuscule.

For the third time in two days, I've just seen it spelt starting mini-, as in mini-skirt.

Nope.

Two completely different roots, according to my office's Collins Pocket Dictionary of the English Language:

miniature - from Medieval Latin miniare, meaning "to paint red", itself deriving from minium, meaning "red lead" (red lead paint, you see).

minuscule - from Latin minuscula meaning, quite simply, "very small".

So there you go. No further excuses, now. ;o)

Comments

[random-goblin.livejournal.com]

my thoughts exactly.. brings new meaning to "paint the town red"

although i now have the image from father ted, with ted trying to explain to dougal the difference between "small" and "far away"