French

Proper noun

Petit

1. A surname​.

Hungarian

Etymology

Peti +‎ -t

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɛtit]
• Hyphenation: Pe‧tit

Proper noun

Petit

1. accusative singular of Peti

English

Adjective

petit ‎(comparative more petit, superlative most petit)

1. (now uncommon, of size) Petite: small, little.
   • 1684 or 1685 February 22, Robert South, A Sermon preached at Westminster-Abbey:
     • And by what small, petit Hints does the Mind catch hold of, and recover a vanishing Notion?
2. Petty, in its various senses:
   1. (obsolete) Few in number.
   2. (now uncommon, of objects) Unimportant; cheap; easily replaced.
   3. (law, of scale) small, minor.
   4. (now rare) Secondary; lower in rank.

Derived terms

Related terms

• petite, petty

See also

• puisne, puny

Noun

petit ‎(plural petits)

1. (obsolete, usually in the plural) A little schoolboy.
2. (obsolete, rare) A kind of pidgeon.

Etymology 2

From French petit ‎(“brevier”) directly or via German Petit ‎(“brevier”).

Noun

petit ‎(uncountable)

1. (printing, dated, French and German contexts) Synonym of brevier.

Catalan

Etymology

From Old Provençal [Term?], from Vulgar Latin *pittitus, an expressive creation (with variant forms pitinnus, pitulus, piccinus, pitikkus, etc.). Compare French petit.

Adjective

petit m ‎(feminine petita, masculine plural petits, feminine plural petites)

1. small, little

Derived terms

• a les petites

Finnish

Verb

petit

1. Second-person singular indicative past form of pettää.

Anagrams

• petti

French

Etymology

From Old French petit, from Vulgar Latin pittitus (775; compare Latin pitinnus, pitulus).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pə.ti/, /pti/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /p(ə)tsi/

Adjective

petit m ‎(feminine singular petite, masculine plural petits, feminine plural petites)

1. small

   un petit verre de vin‎ ― a small glass of wine

2. little

   un petit garçon‎ ― a little boy

Noun

petit m ‎(plural petits, feminine petite)

1. small one (anything that is small)
2. little one (anything that is little)
3. little one; child (of humans or other animals)

Derived terms

• mon petit
• petite bourgeoisie
• petit déjeuner
• petit pois
• petit récit, petits récits

Usage notes

Often contracted, in popular or familiar speech, to p'tit (/pti/).

Descendants

• Portuguese: petiz

Latin

Verb

petit

1. third-person singular present active indicative of petō

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French petit.

Adjective

petit m ‎(feminine singular petite, masculine plural petitz, feminine plural petites)

1. small

Descendants

• French: petit

Noun

petit m (plural petits, feminine singular petite, feminine plural petites)

1. something that is small

Old French

Alternative forms

• peti, pitet

Etymology

From Latin *pitittus (compare Latin pitinnus, pitulus).

Adjective

petit m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular petite)

1. small, little
2. worthless; valueless
3. poor; of poor quality

Declension

Descendants

• English: petit, petty
• Middle French: petit
  • French: petit