different between diminish vs fad

English

Etymology

Formed under the influence of both diminue (from Old French diminuer, from Latin d?minuo) and minish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??m?n??/

Verb

diminish (third-person singular simple present diminishes, present participle diminishing, simple past and past participle diminished)

1. (transitive) To make smaller.
2. (intransitive) To become smaller.
3. (transitive) To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken; to nerf (in gaming).
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Ezekiel 29:15,^[1]

     It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.

   • 1639, Ralph Robinson (translator), Utopia by Thomas More, London, Book 2, “Of their journying or travelling abroad,” p. 197,^[2]

     […] this doth nothing diminish their opinion.

   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 4, lines 32-35,^[3]

     O thou, that, with surpassing glory crowned,

     Lookest from thy sole dominion like the God

     Of this new world; at whose sight all the stars

     Hide their diminished heads; to thee I call,

   • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, London: André Deutsch, Chapter 3,

     In Seth’s presence Mr Biswas felt diminished. Everything about Seth was overpowering: his calm manner, his smooth grey hair, his ivory holder, his hard swollen forearms […]

4. (intransitive) To taper.
   • 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford, London: J.M. Dent, 1904, Chapter 8, p. 120,^[4]

     The chair and table legs diminished as they neared the ground, and were straight and square in all their corners.

5. (intransitive) To disappear gradually.
   • 1948, Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter, Penguin, 1971, Part Two, Chapter 2, 1, p. 77,^[5]

     ‘Good evening, good evening,’ Father Rank called. His stride lengthened and he caught a foot in his soutane and stumbled as he went by. ‘A storm’s coming up,’ he said. ‘Got to hurry,’ and his ‘ho, ho, ho’ diminished mournfully along the railway track, bringing no comfort to anyone.

6. (transitive) To take away; to subtract.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Deuteronomy 4:2,^[6]

     Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Antonyms

• improve, repair, renovate

Derived terms

• diminishment
• law of diminishing returns

Related terms

• diminution

Translations

Anagrams

• minidish

English

Etymology

Of English dialectal origin. Further origin obscure. Possibly from Old English ?efæd (“order, decorum”) (compare Old English ?efæd (“orderly, tidy”), fadian, ?efadian (“to set in order, arrange”); or from French fadaise ("a trifling thought"; see fadaise).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fæd/
• Rhymes: -æd

Noun

fad (plural fads)

1. A phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time.
   • 2004, Andre R. Young, "Encore", Encore:

     You're a fad, that means you're something that we've already had, but once you're gone, you don't come back.

   • 2010, Eric J. Cesal, Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice (page 134)

     The pet rock fad was started by an advertising executive named Gary Dahl. The premise was simple: take ordinary rocks, glue eyes on them, and market them as pets.

Derived terms

• faddish
• faddy

Translations

Anagrams

• ADF, D.F.A., DAF, DFA, FDA, daf

Danish

Etymology 1

From French fade, from Late Latin *fatidus, a blend of Latin fatuus (“foolish”) and vapidus (“vapid”).

Adjective

fad (neuter fad or fadt, plural and definite singular attributive fade)

1. insipid, bland, slightly nauseating
2. (figuratively) flat, insipid, vapid

Etymology 2

From Old Norse fat (“vat, vessel, luggage, clothing”).

Noun

fad n (singular definite fadet, plural indefinite fade)

1. basin, bowl, dish
2. barrel, cask, vat

Inflection

German

Alternative forms

• fade (predominant in the northern half of Germany)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?t/
• Homophones: Fahrt, Pfad (non-standard)
• Rhymes: -a?t

Adjective

fad (comparative fader, superlative am fadesten or am fadsten)

1. (predominant in southern Germany and Austria) vapid, flavourless

Declension

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish fot.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Aran) IPA^(key): /f??d??/
• (Connemara, Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /f?ad??/

Noun

fad m (genitive singular faid, nominative plural faid)

1. length

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Mutation

References

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “fot, fat”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• “fad” in Foclóir Gae?ilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 2nd ed., 1927, by Patrick S. Dinneen.
• "fad" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From French fade.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?t/
  • Rhymes: -a?t

Adjective

fad (masculine faden, neuter fad, comparative méi fad, superlative am faadsten)

1. bland, insipid, tasteless
2. dull, boring, bland

Declension

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French fade.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fad/
• Rhymes: -ad

Adjective

fad m or n (feminine singular fad?, masculine plural fazi, feminine and neuter plural fade)

1. tasteless, flavorless, insipid

Declension

Synonyms

• searb?d, insipid, f?r? gust

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

fad m (genitive singular faid or faide)

1. length
2. distance
3. duration

Derived terms

Related terms

• fada

Determiner

fad

1. all, whole

Mutation

Volapük

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fad/

Noun

fad (nominative plural fads)

1. thread

Declension

Derived terms

• fadäd
• lefad