noun
Meaning 1
The quality of being puny
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
puniness
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
Meaning 2
smallness of stature
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: runtiness, stuntedness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: smallness, littleness
noun
Meaning 3
the quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: pettiness, triviality, slightness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: unimportance
Narrower terms: joke
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pós Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *pósti Proto-Italic *posti Old Latin poste Latin post Proto-Indo-European *íh2 Latin ea Latin posteā Vulgar Latin *postius Old French puis Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh1- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h1tós Proto-Italic *gnātos Latin gnātus Latin nātus Old French né Old French puisné Middle French puisnébor. English puisne English puny Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English puniness From puny + -ness.