mince

Meaning

Noun

1. Finely chopped meat; minced meat.
2. Finely chopped mixed fruit used in Christmas pies; mincemeat.
3. An affected (often dainty or short and precise) gait.
4. An affected manner, especially of speaking; an affectation.
5. (slang) An eye (from mince pie).
6. (slang) Something worthless; rubbish.

Verb

1. To make less; to make small.
2. To lessen; to diminish; to diminish in speaking; to speak of lightly or slightingly; to minimise.
3. To effect mincingly.
4. To cut into very small pieces; to chop finely.
5. To suppress or weaken the force of.
6. To say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly).
7. To affect; to pronounce affectedly or with an accent.
8. To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner.
9. To act or talk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner.

Synonyms

chop

hash

#️⃣

cut

slice

grind

carve

chop up

crush

mincemeat

minced meat

shred

soften

ground meat

dice

divide

hack

hew

mangle

moderate

pose

powder

prance

pulverize

spread out

spread on

cut fine

forcemeat

comminute

force-meat

hamburger

🍔

chopped

alleviate

lessen

make smaller

peck at

mellow

chisel

chasten

mince meat

minimize

slit open

mollify

notch

palliate

plasticize

put through the grinder

put through the mincer

hack to pieces

pulverised

plasticise

quiet

sashay

sharp

show off

calm

break up

break open

granulize

stuffing

trim

crunch

crumble

cut in

cut into

cut up

twist

disassemble

dismember

disparage

cut into slices

engrave

extenuate

flounce

Pronounced as (IPA)

/mɪns/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: mincen

Inherited from Old English: minsian

Cognate with Old Saxon: minsōn

Cognate with Old Dutch: minson

Cognate with Gothic: 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌶𐌽𐌰𐌽

Cognate with Swedish: minska

Cognate with Gothic: 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃

In summary

From Middle English mincen, minsen; partly from Old English minsian, ġeminsian (“to make less, make smaller, diminish”), from Proto-West Germanic *minnisōn, from Proto-Germanic *minnisōną (“to make less”); partly from Old French mincer, mincier (“to cut into small pieces”), from mince (“slender, slight, puny”), from Frankish *minsto, *minnisto, superlative of *min, *minn (“small, less”), from Proto-Germanic *minniz (“less”); both from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small, little”). Cognate with Old Saxon minsōn (“to make less, make smaller”), Old Dutch minson (“to make smaller”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌶𐌽𐌰𐌽 (minznan, “to become less, diminish”), Swedish minska (“to reduce, lessen”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (mins, “slender, slight”). More at min.