Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A copy or model that represents or reproduces something in a greatly reduced size.
  • noun Something small of its class.
  • noun A small painting executed with great detail, often on a surface such as ivory or vellum.
  • noun A small portrait, picture, or decorative letter on an illuminated manuscript.
  • noun The art of painting miniatures.
  • adjective Greatly reduced in size or scale. synonym: small.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A painting, generally a portrait, of very small dimensions, usually executed in water-colors, but sometimes in oil, on ivory, vellum, or paper of a thick and fine quality.
  • noun Hence Anything represented on a greatly reduced scale.
  • noun A greatly reduced scale, style, or form.
  • noun Red letter; lettering in red lead or vermilion.
  • noun Anything small or on a small scale.
  • On a small scale; much reduced from natural size.
  • To represent or depict on a small scale.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Originally, a painting in colors such as those in mediæval manuscripts; in modern times, any very small painting, especially a portrait.
  • noun Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.
  • noun obsolete Lettering in red; rubric distinction.
  • noun obsolete A particular feature or trait.
  • adjective Being on a small scale; much reduced from the reality.
  • transitive verb To represent or depict in a small compass, or on a small scale.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small version of something; a model of reduced scale.
  • noun A small, highly detailed painting, a portrait miniature.
  • noun The art of painting such highly detailed miniature works.
  • noun An illustration in an illuminated manuscript.
  • noun A musical composition which is short in duration.
  • noun gaming A token in a game representing a unit or character.
  • adjective Smaller than normal.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective being on a very small scale
  • noun painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)
  • noun a copy that reproduces a person or thing in greatly reduced size

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian miniatura, illumination of manuscripts, small painting, from miniare, to illuminate, from Latin miniāre, to color red, from minium, red lead.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Italian miniatura (manuscript illumination), from miniare (to illuminate), from the Latin miniāre (to colour red), from minium (red lead).

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Examples

Comments

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  • Surprising etymology: nothing to do with the Latin root for "little, less" found in minus, minor, minimum, minuscule. Rather, it comes from minium "vermilion, cinnabar; red lead", and refers to the use of vermilion to highlight letters in manuscripts (rubrication) and thus to the colouring of marginal pictures in manuscripts.

    May 22, 2009

  • The miniature edition of the BBC Radio 4 programme Broadcasting House this morning (4 December 2011) lasted 45 instead of the usual 60 minutes and contained a report of a remarkable microscopic feat, viz the engraving of a list of names on the surface of a single football boot stud, which may cause you to recall the even smaller scale used in the manufacture of silicon chips. It is believed that miniaturists like Nicholas Hillyard worked with exceedingly fine brushes and executed their work under a hand glass.

    December 4, 2011

  • Hi, michaelt42. I like your use of viz.

    December 5, 2011