mince

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /mɪns/ UK /mɪns/ See IPA manual

verb noun

Meanings

1

verb
to cut into very small pieces; or to walk with affected daintiness

He did not mince words when criticizing the plan.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to cut into very small... chop grind dice hash crumble

Word family

Derived forms mincermincing

Related forms minute diminish

Etymology

From Old French mincier 'to cut into small pieces', from Vulgar Latin *minutiāre, from Latin minūtia 'small particle', from minūtus 'small', from minuere 'to lessen'.

mincier Old French minūtus Latin *mei- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Describing Qualities

# mince

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** mɪns
**IPA (UK):** mɪns

## Meanings
1. to cut into very small pieces; or to walk with affected daintiness

## Examples
- He did not mince words when criticizing the plan.

## Synonyms
- chop
- grind
- dice
- hash
- crumble

## Derived Forms
- mincer
- mincing

## Related Forms
- minute
- diminish

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mincier
- Root: minūtus
- Root: *mei-

## Etymology
From Old French mincier 'to cut into small pieces', from Vulgar Latin *minutiāre, from Latin minūtia 'small particle', from minūtus 'small', from minuere 'to lessen'.

## AI Etymology
Mince comes from Old French mincier 'to cut into small pieces', from Vulgar Latin *minutiāre, from Latin minūtia 'small particle', from minūtus 'small', from minuere 'to lessen'. The etymological trail includes Old French mincier, Latin minūtus, Proto-Indo-European *mei-. The same word family includes mincer, mincing, minute, diminish. Its current verb use means "to cut into very small pieces; or to walk with affected daintiness".

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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mince

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