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petty

Syllabification: (pet·ty)

Pronunciation: /ˈpetē/

Definition of petty

1of little importance; trivial:the petty divisions of party politics
(of behavior) characterized by an undue concern for trivial matters, especially in a small-minded or spiteful way:he was prone to petty revenge on friends and family

2 [attributive] of secondary or lesser importance, rank, or scale; minor:a petty official
Law (of a crime) of lesser importance:petty theftCompare with grand.

Derivatives

late Middle English (in the sense 'small in size'): from a phonetic spelling of the pronunciation of French petit 'small'. Compare with petit

Definition of petty in the British & World English dictionary

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