Definitions

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

  • adjective Short and slender. Used of a girl or woman.
  • adjective Small in size or scope; tiny: synonym: small.
  • noun A clothing size for short, slender women.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Little; of small size; tiny.

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

  • adjective Small, little; of a woman or girl, of small size and trim figure.

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

  • adjective Of a woman: fairly short and of slim build.
  • adjective Of women's clothing: of small size.
  • adjective Small, little; insignificant; petty.

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

  • noun a garment size for short or slender women
  • adjective very small

Etymologies

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

[French, feminine of petit; see petit.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowing from French petite, feminine of petit ("small, little").

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Examples

  • – In 1638 they opened what they called the petite écoles, in which Lancelot,

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913

  • My heart and other organs belong to a certain petite, disturbing hottie with a penchant for road rage and telling outlandish stories about our supposed personal life.

    Just what the hell are you implying, CNN.com? Tyler 2009

  • My heart and other organs belong to a certain petite, disturbing hottie with a penchant for road rage and telling outlandish stories about our supposed personal life.

    Archive 2009-09-27 Tyler 2009

  • More photos in petite anglaise book launch party comments (12) about me about the book press clippings petite's paris facebook twitter feeds my first novel is available as a paperback original in the UK and can be ordered here with free worldwide postage

    special k 2008

  • More photos in petite anglaise book launch party comments (12) 12 comments

    not for sale on ebay, yet 2008

  • She was old and feeble, small and thin -- that's why everyone called her petite maman -- but once she knew what she ought to do, then her spirit overpowered the weakness of her wizened body.

    The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel Emmuska Orczy Orczy 1906

  • When I go to steakhouses here in Madison, I always order the smallest size -- "petite" -- and it's 6 ounces.

    <a href="http://althouse.blogspot.com/2007/01/nutritionism-ideology-that-has.html" title="Nutritionism, the ideology that has replaced food Ann Althouse 2007

  • When I go to steakhouses here in Madison, I always order the smallest size -- "petite" -- and it's 6 ounces.

    Archive 2007-01-01 Ann Althouse 2007

  • She had never regretted it for one hour, never swerved from the conviction that she and Michael were a perfect match -- he, tall, stalwart, black-haired and strong; she "petite" -- she loved the

    Mrs. Warren's Daughter A Story of the Woman's Movement Harry Hamilton Johnston 1892

  • Paperback petite is due to hit the shops in February 2009, so why it’s already on Amazon, I’m not entirely sure.

    cover up 2008

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