mince

== English == === Alternative forms === minch (dialectal) minse (obsolete) === Etymology === From Middle English mincen, minsen; partly from Old English minsian, ġeminsian (“to make less, make smaller, diminish”), from Proto-West Germanic *minnisōn, from Proto-Germanic *minnisōną (“to make less”); partly from Old French mincer, mincier (“to cut into small pieces”), from mince (“slender, slight, puny”), from Frankish *minsto, *minnisto, superlative of *min, *minn (“small, less”), from Proto-Germanic *minniz (“less”); both from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small, little”). Cognate with Old Saxon minsōn (“to make less, make smaller”), Old Dutch minson (“to make smaller”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌶𐌽𐌰𐌽 (minznan, “to become less, diminish”), Swedish minska (“to reduce, lessen”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (mins, “slender, slight”). More at min. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /mɪns/ Rhymes: -ɪns Homophone: mints (most US speakers, also common elsewhere) === Noun === mince (countable and uncountable, plural minces) (uncountable) Finely chopped meat; minced meat. (uncountable) Finely chopped mixed fruit used in Christmas pies; mincemeat. (countable) An affected (often dainty or short and precise) gait. (countable) An affected manner, especially of speaking; an affectation. (countable, Cockney rhyming slang, chiefly in the plural) An eye (from mince pie). (UK, slang, uncountable) Something worthless; rubbish. ==== Quotations ==== ==== Derived terms ==== mincy thick as mince ==== Descendants ==== → Scottish Gaelic: mions ==== Translations ==== === Verb === mince (third-person singular simple present minces, present participle mincing, simple past and past participle minced) (transitive) To make less; to make small. (transitive) To lessen; to diminish; to diminish in speaking; to speak of lightly or slightingly; to minimise. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:diminish (transitive, rare) To effect mincingly. (transitive, cooking) To cut into very small pieces; to chop finely. (archaic, transitive, figuratively) To suppress or weaken the force of. Synonyms: extenuate, palliate, weaken To say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly). (transitive) To affect; to pronounce affectedly or with an accent. 1905, George Henderson, The Gaelic Dialects, IV, in the Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, published by Kuno Meyer and L. Chr. Stern, volume 5, page 98: One may hear some speakers in Oxford mince brother into brover (brëvë); Bath into Baf; both into bof. (intransitive) To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner. (intransitive) To act or talk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner. ==== Usage notes ==== Current usage in the sense of "to say or utter vaguely" is mostly limited to the phrase "mince words"; e.g., "I won't mince words with you". ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === “mince”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. === Anagrams === nemic == Czech == === Etymology === Borrowed from German Münze. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [ˈmɪnt͡sɛ] Rhymes: -ɪntsɛ === Noun === mince f (relational adjective mincový or mincovní, diminutive mincička) coin Synonyms: peníz, moneta Hyponyms: měďák, stříbrňák, zlaťák hodit si mincí ― to flip a coin ==== Declension ==== ==== Related terms ==== === Further reading === “mince”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957 “mince”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989 “mince”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026 == French == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /mɛ̃s/ === Etymology 1 === Derived from the verb mincer, from Old French mincier, from Frankish *minnistō (“smaller, finer”) or Frankish *minnisōn (“to make small, make smaller”). ==== Adjective ==== mince (plural minces) thin, slim, slender ===== Derived terms ===== amincir minceur mincir === Etymology 2 === A minced oath of merde (“shit”). ==== Interjection ==== mince drat!, darn! wow!, blimey! === Further reading === “mince”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Irish == === Noun === mince f genitive singular of minc (“mink”) === Mutation === == Romanian == === Noun === mince f (plural minci) obsolete form of minge ==== Declension ==== === References === mince in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN == Slovak == === Noun === mince inflection of minca: genitive singular nominative/accusative plural