different between insignificant vs measly

English

Etymology

From in- (“not”) +? significant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ns???n?f?k?nt/
• Hyphenation: in?sig?nif?i?cant

Adjective

insignificant (comparative more insignificant, superlative most insignificant)

1. Not significant; not important, inconsequential, or having no noticeable effect.

   Such things are insignificant details compared to the main goal.

2. Without meaning; not signifying anything.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:insignificant

Antonyms

• significant

Derived terms

• insignificance
• insignificantly

Translations

Catalan

Adjective

insignificant (masculine and feminine plural insignificants)

1. insignificant (not important)

   Antonym: significant

Related terms

• insignificança

Further reading

• “insignificant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “insignificant” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “insignificant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “insignificant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Occitan

Adjective

insignificant m (feminine singular insignificanta, masculine plural insignificants, feminine plural insignificantas)

1. insignificant (not important)

   Antonym: significant

Related terms

• insignificança

English

Etymology

measle (“singular of measles”) +? -y; the word measle is either from Middle Dutch masel (“a blister filled with blood; a pustule, a skin blemish”), or Middle Low German masel (“a red skin blemish”), from Proto-Germanic *masuraz (“a knot or scar in wood; a knarl”), from *mas-, *m?s- (“a spot; a sore; a scar”), from Proto-Indo-European *mos- (“a skin sore”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?mi?zli/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?mizli/
• Hyphenation: meas?ly

Adjective

measly (comparative measlier, superlative measliest)

1. Particularly of pigs or pork: infected with larval tapeworms or trichinae (parasitic roundworms). [from late 16th c.]
   • 1847, William Youatt, The Pig: A Treatise on the Breeds, Management, Feeding, and Medical Treatment, of Swine; with Directions for Salting Pork, and Curing Bacon and Hams, page 113:

     Then take five or six apples, pick out the cores and fill up the holes thus made with flour of brimstone; stop up the holes and cast in the apples to the measly hog.

2. Of a person: infected with measles.
   • 1902, The Epworth Herald

     A measly boy, he looked like a tramp, probably one of the street boys from the village, just walked up here and made himself at home, and when I told him to leave, he wouldn't.

3. (figuratively, informal) Small (especially contemptibly small) in amount. [from mid 19th c.]

   Synonyms: miserable, paltry, trifling

   • 2004, Richard Rizun, Ora, Trafford Publishing (?ISBN)

     The visiting tourists eagerly forked over a measly two dollars per group to their guides as payment for their services. This amount was measly sum to the givers, but a princely sum to the takers.

   • 2010, Marylee Daniel Mitcham, Blacktime Song by Rosalie Wolfe, Strategic Book Publishing (?ISBN), page 127:

     So it wasn't a hotel, as I said in my novel, just a measly motel. But to me it was like the First measly motel, and I remember laughing about the things I was saying straight from my unconscious to both his and God's ear.

Translations

References

• “measly”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• Lameys, Leamys, Lemays, Maleys, Mayles, Mealys, amyles, samely, yealms