Minimal

How to spell minimal

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce minimal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does minimal mean?

1. adjectiveBeing the smallest or least amount possible; very limited in size, quantity, or degree.

Minimal in a sentence

• The renovation caused only minimal disruption to the neighbours.

• She furnished the flat in a clean, minimal style with bare walls.

Where does minimal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin minimus, which means 'smallest' or 'least' and is the superlative form of parvus, meaning 'small'. English took the root in during the seventeenth century, when 'minim' described the smallest possible amount or a tiny note in music, and the modern adjective 'minimal' was built on it to mean 'the least possible'. The same minimus ancestor sits inside familiar relatives such as 'minimum', 'minimise', and 'minute' in the sense of very tiny. In the twentieth century 'minimal' gained an artistic life as well, naming the stripped-back style known as minimalism. The single 'm' in the middle and the plain '-al' ending are the spelling points to watch, since writers sometimes double a letter or reach for '-le'.

How the word is built

• minim- (from Latin minimus: smallest)
• -al (adjective suffix)