punyn.adj.

Brit.

/ˈpjuːni/, U.S.

/ˈpjuni/

Forms: 1500s punys, 1500s–1600s puney, 1500s–1600s punie, 1500s–1600s punye, 1500s– puny, 1600s punay, 1600s punee.

Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: puisne adj.

Etymology: Variant of puisne adj. (see discussion at that entry), now chiefly restricted to sense B. 2, in which this is the only current form.

A. n. rare after 17th cent.

†1. Usually in plural. A junior or recently admitted pupil or student in a school or university, or in the Inns of Court. Also in extended use. Cf. petit n. 1. Obsolete.In extended use overlapping with sense A. 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > learning > learner > college or university student > [noun] > first-year student

puny1548

freshman1583

puisne1592

freshwomana1627

bejan1642

nib1655

jib1827

greeny1834

fox1839

freshie1845

rat1850

buttery Benjie1854

pennal1854

yellow-beak1865

fresher1875

yellow-neb1879

yearling1908

frosh1915

1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. L vj Like y^e play in Robin Cooks skole, whear bicaus the punies may lerne thei strike fewe strokes, but by assent & appointement.

1590 J. Stockwood Eng. Accidence sig. Aj^v The Booke to the Punies and Petits of the Grammar Schoole.

1609 T. Dekker Ravevens Almanacke sig. A3 The Punies and young Frye of the Lawe.

c1610 Christmas Prince (1922) 3 They whome they call Fresh-menn Punies of the first yeare.

1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. i. §19 As if vice now disdain'd to have any punies in its school.

†2. gen. A person younger or more junior than another or others; a junior. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > junior person > [noun]

youngestOE

youngerOE

juniora1530

young blood1557

puny1567

puisne1592

kid1690

minimus1848

baby1854

minor1864

1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. 103 Therefore S. Augustine saithe, Deus docuit Petrum per posteriorem Paulum... Thus God instructed Peter by Paule his punee, that was called after him.

1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xii. 334 The eldest..child shall succeede and inherite all; where nothing is reserved for punies, but obedience.

1638 T. Jackson Treat. Consecration Sonne of God 117 Much lesse did the ancient Poets..borrow their fancies..from the Iewish Rabbins who were their punies.

a1682 Sir T. Browne Let. to Friend (1690) 3 He is Dead and Buried, and by this time no Puny among the mighty Nations of the Dead.

†3. A raw or inexperienced person; a novice, a beginner. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > learning > learner > [noun] > novice or beginner

younglingOE

new-comeOE

novice1340

ginner?c1400

beginner1470

apprentice1489

prentice1489

infant1526

freshmana1557

intrant1560

enterer1565

puny?1570

weakling1575

new comeling1587

novist1587

incipient1589

puisne1592

abecedary1596

neophyte1600

abecedarian1603

bachelor1604

novelist?1608

alphabetary1611

breeching boy1611

tiro1611

alphabetarian1614

principiant1619

unexperienced1622

velvet head1631

undergraduatea1659

young stager1664

greenhorn1672

battledore boy1693

youngster1706

tironist1716

novitiatea1734

recruit1749

griffin1793

initiate1811

Johnny Newcome1815

Johnny Raw1823

griff1829

plebe1833

Johnny-come-lately1839

new chum1851

blanc-bec1853

fledgling1856

rookie1868

elementarian1876

tenderfoot1881

shorthorn1888

new kid1894

cheechako1897

ring-neck1898

Johnny1901

rook1902

fresh meat1908

malihini1914

initiand1915

stooge1930

intakea1943

cub1966

?1570 T. Drant Two Serm. ii. sig. F.ij The authoritie of the church to Sainct Augustine being a puny and a nouice in matters of religion, was greater then the authoritie of Christ.

1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. **2^v The idle vsage of our vnexperienst punies.

1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. i. sig. C I see thou'rt but a puny in the subtill Mistery of a woman.

1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants i. iv. §23. 204 Punies in Logick, know that universall affirmatives are not simply converted.

1688 H. Wharton Enthusiasm Church of Rome 55 He was no puny in this Art.

1709 E. Ward Secret Hist. Calves-head Club 9 Men of your Profession, that have lived long enough to be Judges, are not such Punies in cunning, to play their Feats of Iniquity above-board.

1731 N. Spinckes Sick Man Visited (ed. 4) p. ii Might we not then presume that they who are void of fear and trembling are punies in knowledge and sense?

1790 W. Crakelt Entick's New Spelling Dict. (rev. ed.) 301 Puny, a mere novice, an unexperienced wretch.

a. An inferior, a subordinate; a person of no significance. Now archaic and rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun]

lowerc1175

nethererc1443

inferior?1504

puny1579

under-being1587

puisne1592

subaltern1605

little sistera1634

undermatcha1661

wretch1688

sub-man1840

missing link1863

small-timer1910

society > authority > office > holder of office > [adjective] > subordinate

secondary1450

subordinatec1485

puny1579

sublunary1624

puisne1705

junior1766

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of little worth

toy1573

puny1579

puisne1592

urchin1593

short-arse1706

rip1781

snip-jack1846

twopence1866

jerk1935

1579 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 61 [To reap] displeasure of my worshipfullist dearist frendes... Contempte and disdayne of my punyes and underlings.

1626 C. More Life Sir T. Moore 2 I..who know my selfe a verie puney in comparison of so manie famous men.

1658 F. Osborne Trad. Mem. Raigne Iames 23 in Hist. Mem. Reigns Elizabeth & Iames The Swis, though owners of brave actions, are yet so farre their Punies in the learning of trade.

1711 J. Anderson Countrey-man's Let. to Curat 4 Sacheverell Himself is but a puny for an oculist in comparison of him.

1809 C. Lamb & M. Lamb in F. Mylius First Bk. Poetry (1811) 62 Puss in corners, hide and seek, Sports for girls and punies weak!

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 374 Thou chuff, thou puny, thou got in the peasestraw.

†b. A puisne or junior judge. Cf. puisne n. 2. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > judge > [noun] > junior or lower judge

puisne1598

puny1599

1599 J. Weever Epigrammes sig. E4 When Death such Lawyers doth out-face, Then punies may not pleade the case.

1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 526 That the punies and inferiour Iudges should deliuer their opinion first.

?a1659 T. Pestell Poems (1940) 73 Atturneys, punies, clerks, solicitors, Encamping and uniting all their force.

B. adj.

†1. Junior; inferior in rank, subordinate; spec. designating a junior judge. Cf. puisne adj. 1. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective]

evil971

lowc1175

poor?c1225

feeblec1275

vilea1300

petty1372

unthende1377

secondary1386

petitc1390

unmeeta1393

illa1400

commonc1400

coarse1424

indigent1426

unlikelyc1450

lesser1464

gross1474

naughty1526

inferior1531

reprobate?1545

slender1577

unlikely1578

puny1579

under1580

wooden1592

sordid1596

puisne1598

provant1601

subministrant1604

inferious1607

sublunary1624

indifferent1638

undermatched1642

unworthy1646

underly1648

turncoated1650

female1652

undergraduate1655

farandinical1675

baddishc1736

ungenerous1745

understrapping1762

tinnified1794

demi-semi1805

shabby1805

dicky1819

poor white1821

tin-pot1838

deterior1848

substandard1850

crumby1859

cheesy1863

po'1866

not-quite1867

rocky1873

mouldy1876

low-grade1878

sketchy1878

midget1879

junky1880

ullaged1892

abysmal1904

bodgie1905

junk1908

crap1936

ropy1941

bodger1945

two-star1951

tripey1955

manky1958

schlocky1960

cack1978

wank1991

bowf1994

the world > people > person > junior person > [adjective]

youngOE

youngerOE

puisne1565

minor1575

puny1579

junior1623

jun.1708

mi1791

Junr.1813

tertius1870

society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > judge > [adjective] > inferior

puny1579

secondary1599

puisne1648

1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 296 Appealing..from the lower house of punys Burgesses to the higher house of auncient Barons.

1589 Sir T. Smith's Common-welth (rev. ed.) ii. xiv. 74 The officer before whom the Clarke is to take these essoines, is the puny Justice in the common pleas.

1615 T. Overbury et al. New & Choise Characters with Wife (6th impr.) sig. K2 (heading) A Puny-clarke.

1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer iii. i Gads~bodikins, you puny upstart in the law, to use me so!

1712 J. Arbuthnot Law is Bottomless-pit xi. 20 Fees to Judges, puny Judges, Clerks,..Underclerks, Proclamators [etc.].

1733 J. Swift On Poetry 15 Put on the Critick's Brow, and sit At Wills the puny Judge of Wit.

1783 J. Elphinston Hypercritic 65 The puny Judge knew no better than to read, at the board, the following Sentence, here copied from the archetype.

1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna II. xxxiii. 112 He would have to take the first ‘puny’ judgeship vacant.

a. Inferior in size, quality, or amount; insignificant; weak; diminutive, tiny.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > small or trifling in amount or degree

eathlyc890

littleOE

slender1530

foolish1533

triflinga1538

paltry1565

puny?1594

mean1599

minikin1617

unconsiderable1643

inconsiderable1648

punctilio1660

sneaking1703

insignificant1748

flimsy1756

peppercornish1762

peppercorn1791

microscopic1798

pindling1861

midget1879

diddly1893

scroddyc1909

chickenshit1934

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial

eathlyc890

lighteOE

littleOE

small?c1225

singlec1449

easy1474

triflous1509

naughty1526

slender1530

slight1548

shrimpish1549

slipper1567

truanta1572

toyous1581

trivious1583

mean1585

silly1587

nicea1594

puny?1594

puisne1598

pusill1599

whindling1601

sapless1602

non-significant1603

poor1603

unsignificant1603

flea-bite1605

perishing1605

lank1607

weightless1610

fonda1616

penny farthing1615

triviala1616

unweighty1621

transitory1637

twattling1651

inconsiderate1655

unserious1655

nugal1656

small drink1656

slighty1662

minute1668

paddling1679

snitling1682

retail1697

Lilliputian1726

vain1731

rattletrap1760

peppercornish1762

peppercorn1791

underling1804

venial1806

lightweight1809

floccinaucical1826

small-bore1833

minified1837

trantlum1838

piffling1848

tea-tabular1855

potty1860

whipping-snapping1861

tea-gardeny1862

quiddling1863

twaddling1863

fidgeting1865

penny ante1865

feather-weighted1870

jerkwater1877

midget1879

mimsy1880

shirttail1881

two-by-four1885

footle1894

skittery1905

footery1929

Mickey Mouse1931

chickenshit1934

minoritized1945

marginal1952

marginalized1961

tea-party1961

little league1962

marginalizing1977

minnowy1991

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective]

smallOE

littleOE

litec1275

a little wightc1275

petitc1390

weea1525

pusill1599

slender1610

lile1633

scantling1652

piccaninny1707

pinkie1718

insignificant1748

baby1750

leetle1755

tiddy1781

bit1786

inconsiderable1796

itty1798

peerie1808

tittya1825

titty-tottya1825

ickle1846

tiddly1868

peewee1877

lil1881

shirttail1881

inextensive1890

puny1898

liddle1906

pint-sized1921

pint-size1925

peedie1929

tenas1935

itsy-bitsy1938

itty-bitty1940

titchy1950

scrappy1985

?1594 H. Constable Diana (new ed.) vii. x. sig. F3^v Such punie thoughts..whose inaudacitie dares but base conceite.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. iv. 74 And twenty of these punie lies ile tell, that men shall sweare I haue discontinued schoole aboue a twelue-moneth.

1692 E. Walker tr. Epictetus Enchiridion viii The puny loss shall not disturb your mind.

1745 E. Hayward Female Spectator III. xvi. 212 The Men, for the most Part, are admirably well proportioned, though they say of a more puny Constitution and lower Stature than they were in former Times.

1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1739 I. 74 Some puny scribbler invidiously attempted to found upon it a charge of inconsistency.

1838 R. W. Emerson Oration before Lit. Societies 10 The great idea, and the puny execution.

1898 G. W. Steevens With Kitchener to Khartum 139 The River was punier than ever and the belt of bush thin.

1933 E. A. Powell Slanting Lines of Steel xi. 172 Suddenly the bedlam of bells and whistles and guns..was drowned, obliterated, by a new sound, inconceivably terrifying, which made all that had preceded it puny in comparison.

1975 Guardian 20 Jan. 8/5 Britain's puny role in the East–West power game.

1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) xv. 465 But it would be vain indeed to praise our puny handiwork.

b. Of a person, animal, or plant: undersized, slight; lacking in strength, weak, feeble.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [adjective]

shorta900

littleOE

lowa1398

untallc1535

dwarfish1542

shrimpish1549

pygmy1592

shrubby1603

dapper1606

punya1616

runtisha1642

truss1674

sesquipedalian1741

smally1764

petite1766

elfin1796

scram1825

squibbish1826

gnomic1845

dwarf-like1850

knee-high to a grasshopper1851

underhanded1856

nanoid1857

whipping-snapping1861

scrunty1868

midget1875

short-set1883

sawed-off1887

strunty1897

munchkin1930

sawn-off1936

short-arsed1951

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 251 Euery puny whipster gets my sword.

1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 28 Muffet cals this Insect, Locustellum, or, a puny-Locust.

1700 R. Gwinnett Let. 3 Sept. in Pylades & Corinna (1731) 18 He was a puny sickly Child, but has hunted himself into Strength and long Life.

1798 S. Rowson Reuben & Rachel (1799) II. vi. 218 Her eldest brother's children were all puny beings,and her second brother had never married.

1817 J. Austen Sanditon x, in Minor Wks. (1954) 413 A very puny, delicate-looking young Man, the smallest very materially of not a robust Family.

a1862 H. D. Thoreau Maine Woods (1864) iii. 225 When you get fairly into the middle of one of these grim forests..the larger inhabitants are not at home commonly, but have left only a puny red squirrel to bark at you.

1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 34 They..did not wish to preserve useless lives, or raise up a puny offspring.

a1902 S. Butler Way of All Flesh (1903) xxii. 94 He had not much of the buoyancy of childhood, and was more like a puny, sallow little old man than I liked.

1937 Amer. Home Apr. 100/2 When the puny things arrived he was dismayed and..his neighbor advised him to plant only half of them or less and give the rest away.

1982 U. Bentley Natural Order (1983) 128 I felt mildly insulted at the idea that I was too puny to carry a bag of shopping.

c. Chiefly U.S. regional (esp. southern and south Midland). In poor health; ailing; sickly.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > weak

unmightyeOE

unferea1060

unwieldc1220

fade1303

lewc1325

weak1340

fainta1375

sicklyc1374

unwieldyc1386

impotent1390

delicatea1398

lowa1398

unmighta1450

unlustyc1450

low-brought1459

wearyc1480

failed1490

worn1508

caduke?1518

fainty1530

weak1535

debile1536

fluey1545

tewly?1547

faltering1549

puling1549

imbecilec1550

debilitate1552

flash1562

unable1577

unhealthful1595

unabled1597

whindling1601

infirm1608

debilitated1611

bedrid1629

washya1631

silly1636

fluea1645

tender1645

invaletudinary1661

languishant1674

valetudinaire?c1682

puly1688

thriftless1693

unheartya1699

wishy-washy1703

enervate1706

valetudinarian1713

lask1727

wersh1755

palliea1774

wankle1781

asthenic1789

atonic1792

squeal1794

adynamic1803

worn-down1814

totterish1817

asthenical1819

prostrate1820

used up1823

wankya1825

creaky1834

groggy1834

puny1838

imbeciled1840

rickety-rackety1840

muscleless1841

weedy1849

tottery1861

crocky1880

wimbly-wambly1881

ramshackle1889

twitterly1896

twittery1907

wonky1919

strung out1959

a1766 F. Sheridan Concl. Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph (1770) IV. xix. 144 My mama is going to the farm with Harry, (who I think continues very puny).

1838 K. De R. Kennedy in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 289 I found your dear Aunt Catherine in a very puny state, not entirely confined, but obliged to rest herself on the bed more or less every day.

1866 C. H. Smith Bill Arp, so Called 170 Me and him like to have fit, and perhaps would, if I hadn't been puny.

1904 W. N. Harben Georgians xvii. 163 Little Minnie begun to fail; she got so puny she spit up ever'thing she ate.

1943 T. Pratt Barefoot Mailman i. 7 Don't you go making fun of sickness. Mister Dewey Durgan here has been puny the last few days and needs the best advice.

2001 A. C. George One & Magic Life 126 You're feeling puny?.. Come on lie down. It'll be a few minutes before Dr. Horton can see you.

†3. Raw, inexperienced, novice. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > unaccustomedness or state of disuse > [adjective] > not used or accustomed > not used or experienced

youngOE

inexpertc1450

unfleshed1542

green1548

fresha1557

callow1580

pen-feathered1598

puisne1598

puny1602

unfledgeda1616

inexperienced1626

pin-feathered1641

sucking1648

infledgeda1661

inexperient1670

fledgeless1769

wet behind the ears1851

1602 F. Herring in tr. J. Oberndorf Anatomyes True Physition Ep. Ded. sig. A 3^v No Commander will prefer the punee and fresh-water Souldier before the auncient and well-disciplined Warriour.

1653 T. Gataker Vindic. Annot. Jer. 10.2 131 Your Argument..is so sillie, as that..any punie Sophumer may at first sight discover the feebleness of it.

1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 244 Neither do I think it half so bad as these puny Mariners tell us.

1767 G. Canning Poems 50 Such puny novices our Hero scorns, Whose brainless head a front of brass adorns.

†4. Later, recent; = puisne adj. 3. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adjective] > more recent

junior1621

puny1628

puisne1655

low1897

1628 W. Prynne Briefe Suruay Mr. Cozens 29 Composed by some vaine and illiterate Monkes of punie times.

1648 W. Prynne Plea for Lords 373 No precedents of puny date within time of memory.

1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. sig. A2^v Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses of Parliament..were not knowne nor heard of, till punier times then these.

Derivatives

† punyish adj. Obsolete somewhat puny.Apparently an isolated use.

ΚΠ

1832 J. Wilson in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 32 865 Feeblish faces that must frown, punyish figures that must strut.

† punyism n. Obsolete the quality of being puny, puniness; (also) a puny individual.

ΚΠ

1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 67 The punyism of a senseless word like Duke, or Count, or Earl, has ceased to please.

1859 N. P. Willis Convalescent xix. 164 The pale little overdressed punyisms—stunted with indigestion and spoilt temper—that one sees at the hotels and watering-places!

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	puny
释义	punyn.adj. Brit. /ˈpjuːni/, U.S. /ˈpjuni/ Forms: 1500s punys, 1500s–1600s puney, 1500s–1600s punie, 1500s–1600s punye, 1500s– puny, 1600s punay, 1600s punee. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: puisne adj. Etymology: Variant of puisne adj. (see discussion at that entry), now chiefly restricted to sense B. 2, in which this is the only current form. A. n. rare after 17th cent. †1. Usually in plural. A junior or recently admitted pupil or student in a school or university, or in the Inns of Court. Also in extended use. Cf. petit n. 1. Obsolete.In extended use overlapping with sense A. 3. ΘΚΠ society > education > learning > learner > college or university student > [noun] > first-year student puny1548 freshman1583 puisne1592 freshwomana1627 bejan1642 nib1655 jib1827 greeny1834 fox1839 freshie1845 rat1850 buttery Benjie1854 pennal1854 yellow-beak1865 fresher1875 yellow-neb1879 yearling1908 frosh1915 1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. L vj Like y^e play in Robin Cooks skole, whear bicaus the punies may lerne thei strike fewe strokes, but by assent & appointement. 1590 J. Stockwood Eng. Accidence sig. Aj^v The Booke to the Punies and Petits of the Grammar Schoole. 1609 T. Dekker Ravevens Almanacke sig. A3 The Punies and young Frye of the Lawe. c1610 Christmas Prince (1922) 3 They whome they call Fresh-menn Punies of the first yeare. 1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling i. i. §19 As if vice now disdain'd to have any punies in its school. †2. gen. A person younger or more junior than another or others; a junior. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > junior person > [noun] youngestOE youngerOE youngerOE juniora1530 young blood1557 puny1567 puisne1592 kid1690 minimus1848 baby1854 minor1864 1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. 103 Therefore S. Augustine saithe, Deus docuit Petrum per posteriorem Paulum... Thus God instructed Peter by Paule his punee, that was called after him. 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xii. 334 The eldest..child shall succeede and inherite all; where nothing is reserved for punies, but obedience. 1638 T. Jackson Treat. Consecration Sonne of God 117 Much lesse did the ancient Poets..borrow their fancies..from the Iewish Rabbins who were their punies. a1682 Sir T. Browne Let. to Friend (1690) 3 He is Dead and Buried, and by this time no Puny among the mighty Nations of the Dead. †3. A raw or inexperienced person; a novice, a beginner. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > education > learning > learner > [noun] > novice or beginner younglingOE new-comeOE novice1340 ginner?c1400 beginner1470 apprentice1489 prentice1489 infant1526 freshmana1557 intrant1560 enterer1565 puny?1570 weakling1575 new comeling1587 novist1587 incipient1589 puisne1592 abecedary1596 neophyte1600 abecedarian1603 bachelor1604 novelist?1608 alphabetary1611 breeching boy1611 tiro1611 alphabetarian1614 principiant1619 unexperienced1622 velvet head1631 undergraduatea1659 young stager1664 greenhorn1672 battledore boy1693 youngster1706 tironist1716 novitiatea1734 recruit1749 griffin1793 initiate1811 Johnny Newcome1815 Johnny Raw1823 griff1829 plebe1833 Johnny-come-lately1839 new chum1851 blanc-bec1853 fledgling1856 rookie1868 elementarian1876 tenderfoot1881 shorthorn1888 new kid1894 cheechako1897 ring-neck1898 Johnny1901 rook1902 fresh meat1908 malihini1914 initiand1915 stooge1930 intakea1943 cub1966 ?1570 T. Drant Two Serm. ii. sig. F.ij The authoritie of the church to Sainct Augustine being a puny and a nouice in matters of religion, was greater then the authoritie of Christ. 1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. *2^v The idle vsage of our vnexperienst punies. 1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag.* i. sig. C I see thou'rt but a puny in the subtill Mistery of a woman. 1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants i. iv. §23. 204 Punies in Logick, know that universall affirmatives are not simply converted. 1688 H. Wharton Enthusiasm Church of Rome 55 He was no puny in this Art. 1709 E. Ward Secret Hist. Calves-head Club 9 Men of your Profession, that have lived long enough to be Judges, are not such Punies in cunning, to play their Feats of Iniquity above-board. 1731 N. Spinckes Sick Man Visited (ed. 4) p. ii Might we not then presume that they who are void of fear and trembling are punies in knowledge and sense? 1790 W. Crakelt Entick's New Spelling Dict. (rev. ed.) 301 Puny, a mere novice, an unexperienced wretch. 4. a. An inferior, a subordinate; a person of no significance. Now archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] lowerc1175 nethererc1443 inferior?1504 puny1579 under-being1587 puisne1592 subaltern1605 little sistera1634 undermatcha1661 wretch1688 sub-man1840 missing link1863 small-timer1910 society > authority > office > holder of office > [adjective] > subordinate secondary1450 subordinatec1485 puny1579 sublunary1624 puisne1705 junior1766 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of little worth toy1573 puny1579 puisne1592 urchin1593 short-arse1706 rip1781 snip-jack1846 twopence1866 jerk1935 1579 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 61 [To reap] displeasure of my worshipfullist dearist frendes... Contempte and disdayne of my punyes and underlings. 1626 C. More Life Sir T. Moore 2 I..who know my selfe a verie puney in comparison of so manie famous men. 1658 F. Osborne Trad. Mem. Raigne Iames 23 in Hist. Mem. Reigns Elizabeth & Iames The Swis, though owners of brave actions, are yet so farre their Punies in the learning of trade. 1711 J. Anderson Countrey-man's Let. to Curat 4 Sacheverell Himself is but a puny for an oculist in comparison of him. 1809 C. Lamb & M. Lamb in F. Mylius First Bk. Poetry (1811) 62 Puss in corners, hide and seek, Sports for girls and punies weak! 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 374 Thou chuff, thou puny, thou got in the peasestraw. †b. A puisne or junior judge. Cf. puisne n. 2. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > judge > [noun] > junior or lower judge puisne1598 puny1599 1599 J. Weever Epigrammes sig. E4 When Death such Lawyers doth out-face, Then punies may not pleade the case. 1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 526 That the punies and inferiour Iudges should deliuer their opinion first. ?a1659 T. Pestell Poems (1940) 73 Atturneys, punies, clerks, solicitors, Encamping and uniting all their force. B. adj. †1. Junior; inferior in rank, subordinate; spec. designating a junior judge. Cf. puisne adj. 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective] evil971 lowc1175 poor?c1225 feeblec1275 vilea1300 petty1372 unthende1377 secondary1386 petitc1390 unmeeta1393 illa1400 commonc1400 coarse1424 indigent1426 unlikelyc1450 lesser1464 gross1474 naughty1526 inferior1531 reprobate?1545 slender1577 unlikely1578 puny1579 under1580 wooden1592 sordid1596 puisne1598 provant1601 subministrant1604 inferious1607 sublunary1624 indifferent1638 undermatched1642 unworthy1646 underly1648 turncoated1650 female1652 undergraduate1655 farandinical1675 baddishc1736 ungenerous1745 understrapping1762 tinnified1794 demi-semi1805 shabby1805 dicky1819 poor white1821 tin-pot1838 deterior1848 substandard1850 crumby1859 cheesy1863 po'1866 not-quite1867 rocky1873 mouldy1876 low-grade1878 sketchy1878 midget1879 junky1880 ullaged1892 abysmal1904 bodgie1905 junk1908 crap1936 ropy1941 bodger1945 two-star1951 tripey1955 manky1958 schlocky1960 cack1978 wank1991 bowf1994 the world > people > person > junior person > [adjective] youngOE youngerOE puisne1565 minor1575 puny1579 junior1623 jun.1708 mi1791 Junr.1813 tertius1870 society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > judge > [adjective] > inferior puny1579 secondary1599 puisne1648 1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 296 Appealing..from the lower house of punys Burgesses to the higher house of auncient Barons. 1589 Sir T. Smith's Common-welth (rev. ed.) ii. xiv. 74 The officer before whom the Clarke is to take these essoines, is the puny Justice in the common pleas. 1615 T. Overbury et al. New & Choise Characters with Wife (6th impr.) sig. K2 (heading) A Puny-clarke. 1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer iii. i Gads~bodikins, you puny upstart in the law, to use me so! 1712 J. Arbuthnot Law is Bottomless-pit xi. 20 Fees to Judges, puny Judges, Clerks,..Underclerks, Proclamators [etc.]. 1733 J. Swift On Poetry 15 Put on the Critick's Brow, and sit At Wills the puny Judge of Wit. 1783 J. Elphinston Hypercritic 65 The puny Judge knew no better than to read, at the board, the following Sentence, here copied from the archetype. 1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna II. xxxiii. 112 He would have to take the first ‘puny’ judgeship vacant. 2. a. Inferior in size, quality, or amount; insignificant; weak; diminutive, tiny. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > small or trifling in amount or degree eathlyc890 littleOE slender1530 foolish1533 triflinga1538 paltry1565 puny?1594 mean1599 minikin1617 unconsiderable1643 inconsiderable1648 punctilio1660 sneaking1703 insignificant1748 flimsy1756 peppercornish1762 peppercorn1791 microscopic1798 pindling1861 midget1879 diddly1893 scroddyc1909 chickenshit1934 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial eathlyc890 lighteOE littleOE small?c1225 singlec1449 easy1474 triflous1509 naughty1526 slender1530 slight1548 shrimpish1549 slipper1567 truanta1572 toyous1581 trivious1583 mean1585 silly1587 nicea1594 puny?1594 puisne1598 pusill1599 whindling1601 sapless1602 non-significant1603 poor1603 unsignificant1603 flea-bite1605 perishing1605 lank1607 weightless1610 fonda1616 penny farthing1615 triviala1616 unweighty1621 transitory1637 twattling1651 inconsiderate1655 unserious1655 nugal1656 small drink1656 slighty1662 minute1668 paddling1679 snitling1682 retail1697 Lilliputian1726 vain1731 rattletrap1760 peppercornish1762 peppercorn1791 underling1804 venial1806 lightweight1809 floccinaucical1826 small-bore1833 minified1837 trantlum1838 piffling1848 tea-tabular1855 potty1860 whipping-snapping1861 tea-gardeny1862 quiddling1863 twaddling1863 fidgeting1865 penny ante1865 feather-weighted1870 jerkwater1877 midget1879 mimsy1880 shirttail1881 two-by-four1885 footle1894 skittery1905 footery1929 Mickey Mouse1931 chickenshit1934 minoritized1945 marginal1952 marginalized1961 tea-party1961 little league1962 marginalizing1977 minnowy1991 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] smallOE littleOE litec1275 a little wightc1275 petitc1390 weea1525 pusill1599 slender1610 lile1633 scantling1652 piccaninny1707 pinkie1718 insignificant1748 baby1750 leetle1755 tiddy1781 bit1786 inconsiderable1796 itty1798 peerie1808 tittya1825 titty-tottya1825 ickle1846 tiddly1868 peewee1877 lil1881 shirttail1881 inextensive1890 puny1898 liddle1906 pint-sized1921 pint-size1925 peedie1929 tenas1935 itsy-bitsy1938 itty-bitty1940 titchy1950 scrappy1985 ?1594 H. Constable Diana (new ed.) vii. x. sig. F3^v Such punie thoughts..whose inaudacitie dares but base conceite. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. iv. 74 And twenty of these punie lies ile tell, that men shall sweare I haue discontinued schoole aboue a twelue-moneth. View more context for this quotation 1692 E. Walker tr. Epictetus Enchiridion viii The puny loss shall not disturb your mind. 1745 E. Hayward Female Spectator III. xvi. 212 The Men, for the most Part, are admirably well proportioned, though they say of a more puny Constitution and lower Stature than they were in former Times. 1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1739 I. 74 Some puny scribbler invidiously attempted to found upon it a charge of inconsistency. 1838 R. W. Emerson Oration before Lit. Societies 10 The great idea, and the puny execution. 1898 G. W. Steevens With Kitchener to Khartum 139 The River was punier than ever and the belt of bush thin. 1933 E. A. Powell Slanting Lines of Steel xi. 172 Suddenly the bedlam of bells and whistles and guns..was drowned, obliterated, by a new sound, inconceivably terrifying, which made all that had preceded it puny in comparison. 1975 Guardian 20 Jan. 8/5 Britain's puny role in the East–West power game. 1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) xv. 465 But it would be vain indeed to praise our puny handiwork. b. Of a person, animal, or plant: undersized, slight; lacking in strength, weak, feeble. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [adjective] shorta900 littleOE lowa1398 untallc1535 dwarfish1542 shrimpish1549 pygmy1592 shrubby1603 dapper1606 punya1616 runtisha1642 truss1674 sesquipedalian1741 smally1764 petite1766 elfin1796 scram1825 squibbish1826 gnomic1845 dwarf-like1850 knee-high to a grasshopper1851 underhanded1856 nanoid1857 whipping-snapping1861 scrunty1868 midget1875 short-set1883 sawed-off1887 strunty1897 munchkin1930 sawn-off1936 short-arsed1951 a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 251 Euery puny whipster gets my sword. View more context for this quotation 1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 28 Muffet cals this Insect, Locustellum, or, a puny-Locust. 1700 R. Gwinnett Let. 3 Sept. in Pylades & Corinna (1731) 18 He was a puny sickly Child, but has hunted himself into Strength and long Life. 1798 S. Rowson Reuben & Rachel (1799) II. vi. 218 Her eldest brother's children were all puny beings,and her second brother had never married. 1817 J. Austen Sanditon x, in Minor Wks. (1954) 413 A very puny, delicate-looking young Man, the smallest very materially of not a robust Family. a1862 H. D. Thoreau Maine Woods (1864) iii. 225 When you get fairly into the middle of one of these grim forests..the larger inhabitants are not at home commonly, but have left only a puny red squirrel to bark at you. 1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 34 They..did not wish to preserve useless lives, or raise up a puny offspring. a1902 S. Butler Way of All Flesh (1903) xxii. 94 He had not much of the buoyancy of childhood, and was more like a puny, sallow little old man than I liked. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 100/2 When the puny things arrived he was dismayed and..his neighbor advised him to plant only half of them or less and give the rest away. 1982 U. Bentley Natural Order (1983) 128 I felt mildly insulted at the idea that I was too puny to carry a bag of shopping. c. Chiefly U.S. regional (esp. southern and south Midland). In poor health; ailing; sickly. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > weak unmightyeOE unferea1060 unwieldc1220 fade1303 lewc1325 weak1340 fainta1375 sicklyc1374 unwieldyc1386 impotent1390 delicatea1398 lowa1398 unmighta1450 unlustyc1450 low-brought1459 wearyc1480 failed1490 worn1508 caduke?1518 fainty1530 weak1535 debile1536 fluey1545 tewly?1547 faltering1549 puling1549 imbecilec1550 debilitate1552 flash1562 unable1577 unhealthful1595 unabled1597 whindling1601 infirm1608 debilitated1611 bedrid1629 washya1631 silly1636 fluea1645 tender1645 invaletudinary1661 languishant1674 valetudinaire?c1682 puly1688 thriftless1693 unheartya1699 wishy-washy1703 enervate1706 valetudinarian1713 lask1727 wersh1755 palliea1774 wankle1781 asthenic1789 atonic1792 squeal1794 adynamic1803 worn-down1814 totterish1817 asthenical1819 prostrate1820 used up1823 wankya1825 creaky1834 groggy1834 puny1838 imbeciled1840 rickety-rackety1840 muscleless1841 weedy1849 tottery1861 crocky1880 wimbly-wambly1881 ramshackle1889 twitterly1896 twittery1907 wonky1919 strung out1959 a1766 F. Sheridan Concl. Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph (1770) IV. xix. 144 My mama is going to the farm with Harry, (who I think continues very puny). 1838 K. De R. Kennedy in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 289 I found your dear Aunt Catherine in a very puny state, not entirely confined, but obliged to rest herself on the bed more or less every day. 1866 C. H. Smith Bill Arp, so Called 170 Me and him like to have fit, and perhaps would, if I hadn't been puny. 1904 W. N. Harben Georgians xvii. 163 Little Minnie begun to fail; she got so puny she spit up ever'thing she ate. 1943 T. Pratt Barefoot Mailman i. 7 Don't you go making fun of sickness. Mister Dewey Durgan here has been puny the last few days and needs the best advice. 2001 A. C. George One & Magic Life 126 You're feeling puny?.. Come on lie down. It'll be a few minutes before Dr. Horton can see you. †3. Raw, inexperienced, novice. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > unaccustomedness or state of disuse > [adjective] > not used or accustomed > not used or experienced youngOE inexpertc1450 unfleshed1542 green1548 fresha1557 callow1580 pen-feathered1598 puisne1598 puny1602 unfledgeda1616 inexperienced1626 pin-feathered1641 sucking1648 infledgeda1661 inexperient1670 fledgeless1769 wet behind the ears1851 1602 F. Herring in tr. J. Oberndorf Anatomyes True Physition Ep. Ded. sig. A 3^v No Commander will prefer the punee and fresh-water Souldier before the auncient and well-disciplined Warriour. 1653 T. Gataker Vindic. Annot. Jer. 10.2 131 Your Argument..is so sillie, as that..any punie Sophumer may at first sight discover the feebleness of it. 1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 244 Neither do I think it half so bad as these puny Mariners tell us. 1767 G. Canning Poems 50 Such puny novices our Hero scorns, Whose brainless head a front of brass adorns. †4. Later, recent; = puisne adj. 3. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adjective] > more recent junior1621 puny1628 puisne1655 low1897 1628 W. Prynne Briefe Suruay Mr. Cozens 29 Composed by some vaine and illiterate Monkes of punie times. 1648 W. Prynne Plea for Lords 373 No precedents of puny date within time of memory. 1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. sig. A2^v Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses of Parliament..were not knowne nor heard of, till punier times then these. Derivatives † punyish adj. Obsolete somewhat puny.Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ 1832 J. Wilson in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 32 865 Feeblish faces that must frown, punyish figures that must strut. † punyism n. Obsolete the quality of being puny, puniness; (also) a puny individual. ΚΠ 1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 67 The punyism of a senseless word like Duke, or Count, or Earl, has ceased to please. 1859 N. P. Willis Convalescent xix. 164 The pale little overdressed punyisms—stunted with indigestion and spoilt temper—that one sees at the hotels and watering-places! This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † punyv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: puny adj. Etymology: < puny adj. Obsolete. rare. transitive. To render puny or insignificant, to dwarf. Also intransitive: to become puny. ΚΠ 1656 R. Fletcher Poems in Ex Otio Negotium 173 To puny the records of time By one grand Gygantick Crime. 1861 T. Winthrop Cecil Dreeme ix. 117 Perhaps he 's punying away for want of open air and sunshine. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online September 2018). < n.adj.1548v.1656
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punyn.adj.

Derivatives

† punyv.