different between petty vs modest

English

Etymology

From Middle English pety, from Old French peti, petit. Doublet of petit. The disparaging meaning developed over the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?ti/
• Homophone: Petty
  • (General American) IPA^(key): [?p???i]
  • Homophones: Petty, pedi
• Rhymes: -?ti

Adjective

petty (comparative pettier or more petty, superlative pettiest or most petty)

1. (obsolete except in set phrases) Little, small, secondary in rank or importance.

   petty officer, petty cash
2. Insignificant, trifling, or inconsiderable.

   a petty fault
3. Narrow-minded, small-minded.

4. Begrudging in nature, especially over insignificant matters.

   That corporation is only slightly pettier than they are greedy, and they are overdue to reap the consequences.

Synonyms

• (little, unimportant): See Thesaurus:insignificant
• (begrudging): grudgeful, grudging

Antonyms

• (little): See Thesaurus:big
• (begrudging): See Thesaurus:kindly
• (small-minded): broad-minded

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• quibble

Noun

petty (plural petties)

1. (usually in the plural, obsolete) A little schoolboy, either in grade or size.
2. (historical) A class or school for young schoolboys.
3. (dialect, euphemistic) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.

Synonyms

• (school for young schoolboys): ABC, petty school
• (class for young schoolboys): petty form
• (outhouse): See Thesaurus:outhouse

See also

• Petty France

References

• "petty, adj. and n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary (2005), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• “petty”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• petty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• petty in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• pötty

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?p?c?]
• Hyphenation: petty
• Rhymes: -?c?

Noun

petty (plural pettyek)

1. dot, spot, fleck, speck

   Synonyms: folt, pont, paca, pecsét, csepp, (on the face) szepl?

Derived terms

(Expressions):

• hétpettyes katicabogár (“seven-spot[ted] ladybird/ladybug”)

Declension

Further reading

• petty in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmez? szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: ?ISBN

English

Etymology

From Middle French modeste, from Latin modestus

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?d?st/

Adjective

modest (comparative more modest or modester, superlative most modest or modestest)

1. Not bragging or boasting about oneself or one's achievements; unpretentious, humble.
2. Small, moderate in size.

3. Pure and delicate from a sense of propriety.

4. (especially of behaviour or clothing) Intending to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:humble
• See also Thesaurus:intermediate
• See also Thesaurus:small

Antonyms

• immodest

Derived terms

• modest proposal
• modesty

Translations

Anagrams

• domets

Albanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?d?st/

Adjective

modest m (feminine modeste)

1. modest

Derived terms

• modesti

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin modestus.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /mo?d?st/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /mu?d?st/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /mo?dest/

Adjective

modest (feminine modesta, masculine plural modests or modestos, feminine plural modestes)

1. modest

   Antonym: immodest

Derived terms

• modestament

Related terms

• immodest
• modèstia

Further reading

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

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mo?dest/

Adjective

modest m or n (feminine singular modest?, masculine plural mode?ti, feminine and neuter plural modeste)

1. modest