Translation
by no means, not at all; least, very little
Test yourself on minime
Three quick questions. No account needed.
Know this word? Create a free account to track it.
Examples
.
I do not believe this at all.
? .
Do you want to come? Not at all.
.
This pleases least of all.
.
The matter is not in the least necessary.
.
What he said is not at all surprising.
Minime is the superlative adverb of parum, the ladder running parum, minus, minime, "too little, less, least". Beside it stands the adjective ladder parvus, minor, minimus, and the two are easy to cross.
The everyday job is not the literal superlative but flat denial. Latin has no bare word for "no", so a question gets answered by echoing the verb or by an adverb, and minime, often reinforced as minime vero or minime gentium, is the standard emphatic refusal: "not a bit of it". Placed in front of an adjective it works the same way, so minime necessarius is not "least necessary" on a scale but "not necessary at all". English minimum, minimal and minimise come from the same root, though they kept the size sense and lost the sarcasm.
Where this fits
Used in
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Meet this word in a story
Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
Latin · Free printables
minime: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "minime" (by no means, not at all; least, very little): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 1, lesson 6: minime, hic, enim and 8 more words.