First Known Use: 1593
Dictionary
puny
adjective pu·ny \ˈpyü-nē\
: small and weak
: not very large, impressive, or effective
pu·ni·erpu·ni·est
Full Definition of PUNY
: slight or inferior in power, size, or importance : weak
— pu·ni·ly \ˈpyü-nə-lē\ adverb
— pu·ni·ness \ˈpyü-nē-nəs\ noun
See puny defined for English-language learners
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Origin of PUNY
Anglo-French puisné younger, weakly, literally, born afterward, from puis afterward + né born
Related to PUNY
- Synonyms
- bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, pint-size (or pint-sized), pocket, pocket-size (also pocket-sized), small, pygmy, shrimpy, slight, smallish, subnormal, toylike, undersized (also undersize)
PUNINESS Defined for Kids
puny
adjective pu·ny \ˈpyü-nē\
pu·ni·erpu·ni·est
Definition of PUNY for Kids
1
: small and weak in size or power
2
: not very impressive or effective <My boss gave me a puny raise.>
Word History of PUNY
In medieval French puisné, literally, “born afterward,” was used to mean “younger” when talking about two people. Borrowed into English, puisne and the phonetic spelling puny came to be used of anyone in a position of less importance than another. By the time of the playwright William Shakespeare puny no longer suggested relative rank, but had come to mean “weak” or “feeble”—a meaning the word retains today.
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