miniature

Definition

Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian miniatura (“manuscript illumination”), from miniare (“to illuminate”), from Latin miniō (“to colour red”), from minium (“red lead”).

Example Sentences

• "There was a miniature of a whaling ship in a glass bottle over the mantelpiece."
• "The twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany are conceived as a miniature of the whole year, the character of each particular day answering to the character of a particular month."
• "The miniature was a picture of Leo's Greek mother - a lovely, dark-eyed creature."