Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Petit

Pet′it

(pĕt′y̆; F. pe-tē̍′)
,
Adj.
[F. See
Petty
.]
Small; little; insignificant; mean; – Same as
Petty
.
[Obs., except in legal language.]
By what small,
petit
hints does the mind catch hold of and recover a vanishing notion.
South.
Petit constable
,
an inferior civil officer, subordinate to the high constable.
Petit jury
,
a jury of twelve men, impaneled to try causes at the bar of a court; – so called in distinction from the
grand jury
.
Petit larceny
,
the stealing of goods of, or under, a certain specified small value; – opposed to
grand larceny
. The distinction is abolished in England.
Petit maître
.
[F., lit., little master.]
A fop; a coxcomb; a ladies’ man.
Goldsmith.
Petit serjeanty
(Eng. Law)
,
the tenure of lands of the crown, by the service of rendering annually some implement of war, as a bow, an arrow, a sword, a flag, etc.
Petit treason
,
formerly, in England, the crime of killing a person to whom the offender owed duty or subjection, as one's husband, master, mistress, etc. The crime is now not distinguished from murder.

Webster 1828 Edition


Petit

PETIT

,
Adj.
pet'ty. Small; little; mean.
This word petit is now generally written petty.
Petit constable, an inferior civil officer subordinate to the high constable.
Petit jury, a jury of twelve freeholders who are empanneled to try causes at the bar of a court; so called in distinction from the grand jury, which tries the truth of indictments.
Petit larceny, the stealing of goods of the value of twelve pence, or under that amount; opposed to grand larceny.
serjeanty, in English law, the tenure of lands of the king, by the service of rendering to him annually some implement of war, as a bow, an arrow, a sword, lance, &c.
Petit treason, the crime of killing a person, to whom the offender owes duty or subjection. Thus it is petit treason for a wife to kill her husband, or a servant his lord or master.

Definition 2024


Petit

Petit

See also: petit, pétit, and pētīt

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

petit

petit

See also: Petit, pétit, and pētīt

English

Adjective

petit (comparative more petit, superlative most petit)

  1. (now uncommon, of size) Petite: small, little.
  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
See also

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


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

Usage notes

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

Descendants


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

Noun

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

  1. something that is small

Old French

Alternative forms

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