Added 9 October 2026
minnow
/ˈmɪnəʊ/ noun
In Latin: phoxinus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about minnow at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Any of certain small fish.
- The common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), a small freshwater fish of the carp family Cyprinidae which has a green back with black elongated blotches, commonly swimming in large shoals.
- Chiefly with a qualifying word: That fish or any of a number of other (small) fish from the family Cyprinidae.
adjective
verb
Origin
The noun is derived from Late Middle English menew, menowe (“small fish; (specifically) common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus); or stickleback (possibly the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus)”), from Old English *mynwe, an oblique form of *mynu, a variant of myne (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *muniwu (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small”). Possibly influenced by Anglo-Norman menu (“small”) and Old French menu (“small”), and English minim (“anything very minute; applied to animalcula and the like”). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)