mince

mince
—mincer, n.
/mins/, v., minced, mincing, n.
v.t.
1. to cut or chop into very small pieces.
2. to soften, moderate, or weaken (one's words), esp. for the sake of decorum or courtesy.
3. to perform or utter with affected elegance.
4. to subdivide minutely, as land or a topic for study.
v.i.
5. to walk or move with short, affectedly dainty steps.
6. Archaic. to act or speak with affected elegance.
7. not mince words or matters, to speak directly and frankly; be blunt or outspoken: He was angry and didn't mince words.
n.
8. something cut up very small; mincemeat.
[1350-1400; ME mincen < MF minc(i)er < VL *minutiare to mince; see MINUTE2]

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  • mince — [ mɛ̃s ] adj. et interj. • fin XIVe; de l a. v. mincier « couper en menus morceaux », var. de menuiser I ♦ Adj. 1 ♦ (Opposé à épais) Qui a peu d épaisseur. ⇒ 2. fin. Couper de la viande en tranches minces. ⇒ émincer. Métal réduit en bandes, en… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • mince — MINCE. adj. de tout genre. Tenve, qui n a que fort peu d épaisseur. Estoffe mince. cette doublure est bien mince. cette lame d argent est fort mince. couper des tranches trop minces, &c. mince comme la langue d un chat. On dit figur. qu Une… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Mince — (m[i^]ns), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Minced} (m[i^]nst); p. pr. & vb. n. {Minging} (m[i^]n s[i^]ng).] [AS. minsian to grow less, dwindle, fr. min small; akin to G. minder less, Goth. minniza less, mins less, adv., L. minor, adj. (cf. {Minor}); or more …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mince — Nom très rare porté dans le Puy de Dôme, où il est déjà attesté au XVIIe siècle. Sens incertain. On pense évidemment à l adjectif mince (= menu), mais son sens actuel n est attesté que depuis le XVIe siècle. En ancien français on donnait le nom… …   Noms de famille

  • Mińce —   Village   Country …   Wikipedia

  • mince ! — ● mince ! interjection (de mince) Familier. Marque un vif étonnement, une vive admiration, le mécontentement : Mince ! je me suis encore coupé …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • mince — [v1] chop up chip, crumble, cut, dice, divide, grind, hack, hash, whack; concept 176 mince [v2] pose, put on airs attitudinize, flounce, posture, prance, sashay, strut; concept 59 mince [v3] euphemize, hold back in communication alleviate, de …   New thesaurus

  • mince — ► VERB 1) cut up or shred (meat) into very small pieces. 2) walk in an affected manner with short, quick steps and swinging hips. ► NOUN chiefly Brit. ▪ minced meat. ● mince (one s) words Cf. ↑mince words …   English terms dictionary

  • mince — [mins] vt. minced, mincing [ME mincen < OFr mincier < VL * minutiare < L minutus, small: see MINUTE2] 1. to cut up or chop up (meat, etc.) into very small pieces; hash 2. to subdivide minutely 3. to express or do with affected elegance… …   English World dictionary

  • Mince — Mince, n. A short, precise step; an affected manner. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mince — Mince, v. i. 1. To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner. [1913 Webster] The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, . . . mincing as they go. Is. iii. 16. [1913 Webster] I ll . . .… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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