minus

See also: Minus and mínus

English

Etymology

From Latin minus, neuter form of minor, comparative form of parvus (“small, little”), from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (“few, small”).

Pronunciation

enPR: mīn-əs, IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪnəs/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -aɪnəs

Preposition

minus

(mathematics) Made less or reduced by (followed by an expression of number or quantity). [from 15th c.]
seven minus two is five
Antonym: plus
(informal) Without; deprived of. [from 19th c.]
I walked out minus my coat.
Synonyms: lacking, without

Derived terms

minus sign

Translations

mathematics: less

Arabic: نَاقَص‎ (nāqaṣ)
Egyptian Arabic: ناقص‎ (naaʾeṣ)
Armenian: հանած (hy) (hanac)
Asturian: menos
Basque: ken
Bulgarian: минус (minus)
Catalan: menys (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 减 (zh) (jiǎn)
Czech: minus (cs), mínus (cs)
Dutch: min (nl)
Esperanto: minus (eo)
Estonian: miinus (et)
Finnish: miinus (fi), pois (fi)
French: moins (fr)
Galician: menos (gl)
German: weniger (de), minus (de)
Greek: πλην (el) n (plin), μείον (el) n (meíon)
Hebrew: פחות‎ (he) (pakhót), מינוס‎ (mínus)
Icelandic: mínus
Italian: meno (it)
Japanese: 引く (ja) (hiku)
Korean: 빼기 (ko) (ppaegi)
Macedonian: минус (minus)
Norwegian: minus
Polish: minus (pl) m
Portuguese: menos (pt)
Russian: ми́нус (ru) (mínus)
Spanish: menos (es)
Swedish: minus (sv)
Tagalog: bawas (tl)
Thai: ลบ (th) (lóp)
Turkish: eksi (tr)
Urdu: منفی‎
Yiddish: מינוס‎ (minus)

Noun

minus (plural minuses)

(mathematics) The minus sign (−). [from 16th c.]
(mathematics) A negative quantity. [from 18th c.]
A downside or disadvantage. [from 20th c.]

Synonyms

(defect or deficiency): defect, deficiency, drawback, flaw, shortcoming

Antonyms

(minus sign): plus, plus sign
(negative quantity): positive
(defect or deficiency): advantage, bonus, boon, gain, plus

Translations

minus sign — see minus sign

mathematics: negative quantity

German: Minus (de) n
Icelandic: neikvæð tala f, tala sem er minni en núll f
Japanese: 負 (ja) (ふ, fu), マイナス (ja) (mainasu)
Portuguese: negativo (pt) m
Russian: отрица́тельная величина́ (otricátelʹnaja veličiná)
Spanish: negativo (es) m
Swedish: negativ kvantitet
Thai: ลบ (th) (lóp)

downside or disadvantage

Czech: mínus (cs) n
Finnish: miinus (fi) (colloquial)
German: Minus (de) n
Icelandic: mínus m, ókostur m
Russian: ми́нус (ru) (mínus), недоста́ток (ru) (nedostátok)
Swedish: brist (sv), minus (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Korean: ^{(please verify)} 빼기 (ko) (ppaegi) (bbaegi)
Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 減去／减去 (zh), ^{(please verify)} 减去 (zh) (jiǎn qù)

Adjective

minus (not comparable)

Being a negative quantity; pertaining to a deficit or reduction. [from 18th c.]
a minus number
That is below zero by (a specified amount) on a scale. [from 19th c.]
minus seven degrees
(colloquial, obsolete) Worse off than before; out of pocket. [19th c.]
- 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 301:
  The races being finished, we left Epsom for London, Mordaunt's natural vile temper not being at all improved by being three hundred pounds minus by the week's speculation […] .
(postpositive) Ranking just below (a designated rating). [from 19th c.]
He got a grade of B minus for his essay.

Synonyms

(negative): negative
(on the negative part of a scale): below zero (after the noun)

Translations

negative

Arabic: سَالِب‎ (sālib)
Armenian: բացասական (hy) (bacʿasakan)
Bulgarian: отрицателен (bg) (otricatelen)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 负 (zh) (fù)
Dutch: min (nl), negatief (nl), negatieve (nl)
Finnish: negatiivinen (fi)
French: strictement négatif (fr) m, strictement négative (fr) f
Greek: αρνητικός (el) (arnitikós)
Hungarian: mínusz (hu), negatív (hu)
Icelandic: mínus-, sem lýtur að frádrætti, frádráttar-, neikvæður (is), minni en núll
Italian: negativo (it) m, negativa (it) f
Japanese: 負 (ja) (fu)
Norwegian: negativ (no)
Polish: ujemny (pl)
Portuguese: negativo (pt) m
Russian: отрица́тельный (ru) (otricátelʹnyj)
Swedish: negativ (sv)

on the negative part of a scale

Armenian: մինուս (hy) (minus)
Basque: minus
Dutch: min (nl), onder nul (after the noun)
Esperanto: minus (eo)
Finnish: miinus (fi), pakkanen (fi) (of temperatures)
French: moins (fr)
Greek: μείον (el) (meíon), πλην (el) (plin)
Hungarian: mínusz (hu)
Icelandic: mínus-, neikvæður (is), minni en núll
Japanese: マイナス (ja) (mainasu)
Russian: ми́нус (ru) (mínus)
Swedish: minus (sv)

ranking just below a designated rating

Finnish: miinus (fi), miikka (fi) (slang)
French: moins (fr)
Hungarian: alá (hu)
Icelandic: mínus
Russian: с ми́нусом (s mínusom)
Swedish: minus (sv)

Verb

minus (third-person singular simple present minuses, present participle minusing, simple past and past participle minused)

(transitive, colloquial) To subtract. [from 20th c.]
- 2011, Laura Christine Bofferding, Expanding the Numerical Central Conceptual Structure:
  Four plus one is 5 and you go down because it's minusing, […]

References

Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “minus”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
minus at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

in sum, munis, simun

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Latin minus (“less”).

Noun

minus

minus

Declension

Declension of minus

nominative	minus
genitive	minusnıñ
dative	minusqa
accusative	minusnı
locative	minusta
ablative	minustan

References

Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Czech

Etymology

From Latin minus, from minor.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmiːnus]

Adverb

minus

minus

Noun

minus m

minus
Antonym: plus

Related terms

administrace
administrativa
administrátor
administrovat
deminuce
deminutivní
deminutivum
minimalismus
minimalista
minimalistický
minimalizace
minimalizovat
minimální
minimum
ministerstvo
ministr
ministrant
minorita
minuskule
minuta

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈminus]
Audio:
(file)
Rhymes: -inus
Hyphenation: mi‧nus

Conjunction

minus

minus
Tri minus du estas unu. ― Three minus two is one.
Antonym: plus
- 1961, Esperantologio, page 156:
  Ni povas principe eliri aŭ de la nominativa formo (finaĵo nul aŭ -s) aŭ de la genitiva formo (minus la finaĵo -os); […]
  (please add an English translation of this quote)
- 2008, Christian Declerck, Spitaj – kiel hidrargo, Antwerp: Flandra Esperanto-Ligo, →ISBN, page 85:
  ‘La universala estas la loka minus la muroj,’ diris Marteno.
  (please add an English translation of this quote)

Adjective

minus

minus
- 1913, La Revuo, page 395:
  Ho mia Dio! la muro estas vertikala, eĉ negative kruta. La angulo kun la vertikalo estas minus kvin gradoj, ĉar mi ankoraŭ povas matematike pensi.
  (please add an English translation of this quote)
- 2015, Esteban Sánchez, Gramática Práctica del Esperanto, →ISBN, page 132:
  dek ok minus dudek estas minus du
  eighteen minus twenty is minus two
- 2019, Sten Johansson, Ne eblas aplaŭdi unumane, New York, N.Y.: Mondial, →ISBN, page 41:
  La taga temperaturo kutime restadis inter minus dek kaj dek kvin gradoj, kion oni ĉi tie konsideris milda.
  The daytime temperature usually stayed between minus ten and fifteen degrees, which was considered mild here.

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmiːnʊs]
Audio (file)

Adverb

minus

(mathematics) minus, less
vier minus drei ist eins. ― 4–3=1
Synonym: weniger
Antonym: plus

Interlingua

Adverb

minus (not comparable)

less (used to form comparatives)

le minus

the least (used to form superlatives)

Antonyms

plus

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *minos. Related to minor.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.nus/, [ˈmɪnʊs̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.nus/, [ˈmiːnus]

Adjective

minus

nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of minor

Adverb

minus

comparative degree of paulum
sīn minus/aliter/secus ― otherwise, if not

Descendants

Dalmatian: maine, men
Italo-Romance:
- Italian: meno
Northern Gallo-Romance:
- Old French: moins, meins
  - Middle French: moins
    - French: moins
Padanian:
- Piedmontese: meyn
Southern Gallo-Romance:
- Catalan: menys
- Occitan: mens
Ibero-Romance:
- Old Leonese: menos
  - Asturian: menos
- Old Portuguese: menos
  - Galician: menos
  - Portuguese: menos
- Old Spanish: menos
  - Ladino: menos
  - Spanish: menos
Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: minus (Nuorese)
Borrowings:
- → Czech: minus
- → English: minus
- → Esperanto: minus
- → German: Minus, minus
- → Interlingua: minus
- → Icelandic: mínus
- → Norwegian Bokmål: minus
- → Norwegian Nynorsk: minus
- → Polish: minus
- → Romanian: minus
- → Serbo-Croatian: minus
- → Swedish: minus

References

“minus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
sin in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2023) Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
“minus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
minus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin minus.

Adverb

minus

minus

Derived terms

minustegn

References

“minus” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
“minus_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin minus.

Adverb

minus

minus

Derived terms

minusteikn

References

“minus” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmi.nus/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -inus
Syllabification: mi‧nus

Noun

minus m inan

minus, minus sign
Antonym: plus

Declension

Declension of minus

	singular	plural
nominative	minus	minusy
genitive	minusa	minusów
dative	minusowi	minusom
accusative	minus	minusy
instrumental	minusem	minusami
locative	minusie	minusach
vocative	minusie	minusy

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin minus.

Adverb

minus

minus

Noun

minus n (plural minusuri)

minus

Declension

Declension of minus

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) minus	minusul	(niște) minusuri	minusurile
genitive/dative	(unui) minus	minusului	(unor) minusuri	minusurilor
vocative	minusule		minusurilor

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

mínus m (Cyrillic spelling ми́нус)

minus sign
minuns, defect, deficiency

Declension

Declension of minus

	singular	plural
nominative	minus	minusi
genitive	minusa	minusa
dative	minusu	minusima
accusative	minus	minuse
vocative	minuse	minusi
locative	minusu	minusima
instrumental	minusom	minusima

Swedish

Noun

minus n

minus sign, minus

Preposition

minus

(mathematics) minus
Tre minus två är ett.
Three minus two is one.

Derived terms

minusa

Veps

Pronoun

minus

inessive of minä

minus

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Preposition

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Adjective

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

See also

References

Anagrams

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Noun

Declension

References

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Conjunction

Adjective

German

Pronunciation

Adverb

See also

Interlingua

Adverb

Antonyms

Latin

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Adverb

Descendants

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Adverb

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Adverb

Derived terms

References

Polish

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Adverb

Noun

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

Declension

Swedish

Noun

Preposition

Derived terms

Veps

Pronoun