Minnow

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈmɪnəʊ/Rhymes: -ɪnəʊ

Alternative forms

• minnie, minny
• minow, menow, menoe obsolete

Origin

From Middle English menow, from Old English *mynwe, oblique form of *mynu, unattested variant of Old English myne ("minnow, small fish"), from Proto-Germanic *muniwō ("minnow"), from Proto-Indo-European *men- ("small"). Cognate with Middle Low German mone, möne (West Frisian meun, Dutch meun), Old High German muniwa, munuwa, munewa (German Münne ("minnow")).

Full definition of minnow

Noun

1. A small freshwater fish of the carp family.
2. More generally, any small fish.
3. (football) A low-level team, in comparison to their opponents.
• 2011, January 29, Chris Bevan, Torquay 0 - 1 Crawley Town, Having spent more than £500,000 on players last summer, Crawley can hardly be classed as minnows but they have still punched way above their weight and this kind of performance means no-one will relish pulling them out of the hat in Sunday's draw.

Verb

1. (fishing) to fish minnows
2. (fishing) to fish (especially trout) using a minnow as bait

Derived terms

• minnower