puny

puny

English

WOTD – 23 August 2021

Etymology

PIE word
*pós

A respelling of puisne,[1] from Anglo-Norman puisné (“later, more recent; junior; weakly”) [and other forms] and Middle French puisné (“born after (a specified person); younger, youngest; one who is born after (a specified person)”) (modern French puîné (“cadet (born after a sibling); a cadet (someone born after a sibling)”)), from puis (“after; since”) + né (“born”).[2] Puis is derived from Old French pois (“after; since”), from Vulgar Latin *postius (“afterward”), from Latin posteā (“afterwards; hereafter; thereafter; next, then”), from post (“after; since”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pós (“afterwards”)) + ea (“these (things)”); and né from Latin nātus (“born”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpjuːni/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpjuni/
• Homophone: puisne
• Rhymes: -uːni
• Hyphenation: pu‧ny

Adjective

puny (comparative punier, superlative puniest)

1. Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak. [from 16th c.]

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:scrawny, Thesaurus:small

   You puny earthlings are no match for Ming the Merciless!

   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Simmes for Androw Wise, […], published 1597, OCLC 213833262, [Act III, scene ii]:

     I had forgot my ſelfe, am I not King? […] Is not the Kings name twenty thouſand names? / Arme arme, my name a puny ſubiect ſtrikes, / At thy great glorie, […]

     I have forgotten who I am: am I not the King? […] Is not the King's name worth the names of twenty thousand people? / To arms, my name! An inferior subject strikes / At your great glory, […]

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene iv], page 177, column 1:

     And twentie of theſe punie lies Ile tell, / That men ſhall ſweare I haue diſcontinued ſchoole / About a twelue moneth: […]

   • 1791, James Boswell, “[1755]”, in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], OCLC 1193162412, page 163:

     How ſhould puny ſcribblers be abaſhed and diſappointed, when they find him diſplaying a perfect theory of lexicographical excellence, yet at the ſame time candidly and modeſtly allowing that he "had not ſatisfied his own expectations."

   • 1827, [John Keble], “Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity”, in The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year, volume II, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [B]y W. Baxter, for J. Parker; and C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], OCLC 1029642537, page 87:

     [W]e dart / O'er wave or field: yet breezes laugh to scorn // Our puny speed, […]

2. (chiefly Southern US, south Midland US) (Frequently) ill; poorly, sickly. [from 18th c.]
3. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of puisne
   1. Inferior in rank; specifically, of a judge: junior. [16th–19th c.]
      • 1676 December 11 (first performance)​, [William] Wycherley, The Plain-Dealer. A Comedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for James Magnes and Rich[ard] Bentley […], published 1677, OCLC 1179616525, Act III, page 42:

        Gadsbodkins, you puny Upſtart in the Law, to uſe me ſo, you Green Bag Carrier, you Murderer of unfortunate Cauſes, the Clerks Ink is ſcarce off of your fingers, you that newly come from Lamblacking the Judges ſhooes, and are not fit to wipe mine; […]

      • 1712, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], “How John Look’d Over His Attorney’s Bill”, in Law is a Bottomless-Pit. […], London: […] John Morphew, […], OCLC 1083345579, page 20:

        When John firſt brought out the Bills, the Surprize of all the Family was unexpreſſible, at the prodigious Dimenſions of them; […] Fees to Judges, puny Judges, Clerks, Prothonotories, Philizers, Chirographers, Underclerks, Proclamators, Counſel, Witneſſes, Jury-men, Marſhals, Tipſtaffs, Cryers, Porters; […]

      • 1733, [Jonathan Swift], On Poetry: A Rapsody, Dublin; London: […] [R. Fleming] [a]nd sold by J. Huggonson, […], OCLC 702325540, lines 237–240, page 15:

        But if you think this Trade to baſe, / (Which ſeldom is the Dunce's Caſe) / Put on the Critick's Brow, and ſit / At Wills the puny Judge of Wit.

      • 1871 (date written), Anthony Trollope, “Daniel Thwaite Receives His Money”, in Lady Anna. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1874, OCLC 5951068, pages 111–112:

        Many thought that he had altogether cut his own throat, and that he would have to take the first "puny" judgeship vacant.

   2. Coming later in time; secondary, subsequent. [17th c.]
   3. Not experienced; novice. [17th–18th c.]

Derived terms

• punily
• puniness, punyness
• punyism (obsolete)

Translations

of inferior size — See also translations at small

Bulgarian: дребен (dreben), недорасъл (bg) (nedorasǎl) Catalan: desnerit, escarransit (ca), feble (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 弱小 (zh) (ruòxiǎo), 微小 (zh) (wēixiǎo) Danish: sølle (da) Dutch: ijdel (nl), klein (nl), nietig (nl), zwak (nl) Finnish: mitätön (fi), vähäpätöinen (fi) French: chétif (fr), frêle (fr) German: kläglich (de), klein (de), kümmerlich (de), mickrig (de), schwächlich (de) Greek: αδύνατος (el) (adýnatos), μικροκαμωμένος (el) (mikrokamoménos), μικρός (el) (mikrós) Irish: aimlithe Italian: gracile (it), sparuto (it) Japanese: ちっぽけな (ja) (chippoke na), 虚弱な (ja) (きょじゃくな, kyojaku na), 弱々しい (よわよわしい, yowayowashii) Korean: 자그마하다 (ko) (jageumahada) Latin: pusillus Luxembourgish: krappeg Maori: kaurehe, pūkiki, rehe Norwegian: ynkelig Polish: wątły (pl) Portuguese: fraco (pt), franzino (pt), pequeno (pt) Russian: кро́хотный (ru) (króxotnyj), кро́шечный (ru) (króšečnyj) Spanish: flojo (es), gualtrapas, tirillas (es) Swedish: tanig (sv), ynklig (sv), ynkligt liten

of inferior significance — see ineffective

of inferior strength — see weak

(frequently) ill — see poorly,‎ sickly

See also

Not to be confused with punny (“relating to a pun”).

Noun

puny (plural punies)

1. (archaic) An inferior person; a subordinate; also, an insignificant person. [from 16th c.]

   (inferior person): Synonyms: inferior, junior, (obsolete) puisne, underling, vassal · Antonym: superior

   (insignificant person): Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nonentity, Thesaurus:worthless person · Antonyms: see Thesaurus:important person

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 14: Oxen of the Sun]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], OCLC 560090630, part II [Odyssey], page 374:

     [T]hou chuff, thou puny, thou got in the peasestraw thou losel, thou chitterling, thou spawn of a rebel, thou dykedropt, […]

2. (obsolete)
   1. A younger person; a junior. [16th–17th c.]
      • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, “An Apologie of Raymond Sebond”, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821, pages 333–334:

        [A] law that the eldeſt or firſt-borne child ſhall ſucceede and inherite all: where nothing is reſerved for punies, but obedience: […] Theſe vaine ſhadowes of our religion, which are ſeene in ſome of theſe examples, witnes the dignitie and divinity thereof.

      • 1642, Thomas Fuller, “The Good Generall”, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], OCLC 1238111360, book IV, paragraph 5, page 328:

        For a worthy man is wounded more deeply by his own Generalls neglect, then by his enemies ſword: […] Who had rather others ſhould make a ladder of his dead corps to ſcale a city by it, then a bridge of him whileſt alive for his punies to give him the Goe-by, and paſſe over him to preferment.

   2. Alternative spelling of puisne
      1. A person who is not experienced; a beginner, a novice. [16th–18th c.]

         Synonyms: newb, rookie, tenderfoot; see also Thesaurus:beginner

         • 1607, attributed to Thomas Middleton or Cyril Tourneur, The Revengers Tragædie. […], London: […] G[eorge] Eld, […], OCLC 1171418461, Act I:

           Nay then I ſee thou'rt but a puny in the ſubtill Miſtery of a woman: […]

      2. (law) A puisne or junior judge. [16th–17th c.]
   3. (university slang, law) A new student at a school, university, the Inns of Court, etc.; a junior. [16th–17th c.]

      Synonyms: fresher, freshman, new bug, (Tonbridge School) novi, (Westminster School) shadow

      • c. 1610, “[The Election of the Prince]”, in Frederick S[amuel] Boas, editor, The Christmas Prince (The Malone Society Reprints; 47b), London: Printed for the Malone Society by Frederick Hall M.A. at the Oxford University Press, published 1923 (indicated as 1922), OCLC 623010400, lines 9–12 and 14–18, page 3:

        [T]he whole companye or most parte of the Studentꝭ [Studentis] of the same house mette toogether to beginne their Christmas, of w^ch som̃e came to see sports […] others to make sporte w^thall of this last sorte were they whome they call Fresh-menn Punies of the first yeare, who are by no meanes admitted to be agent's or behoulders of those sports, before themselues haue biñe patient perfourmers of them.

Translations

inferior person — see subordinate

insignificant person — see nonentity

References

1. “puny, n. and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “puny, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
2. “puisne, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “puisne, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

• puisne on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Catalan

Etymology

From Old Catalan puny, from Latin pugnus, from Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos, *puḱnos, from *pewǵ- (“prick, punch”).

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈpuɲ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

puny m (plural punys)

1. fist

Related terms

• punyal
• punyeta

References

• “puny” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “puny”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “puny” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “puny” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.