pu|ny

pu|ny «PYOO nee», adjective, -ni|er, -ni|est.

1. of less than usual size and strength; small and weak: »

My uncle was a thin, puny little man (Washington Irving).

SYNONYM(S): undeveloped, stunted, feeble.

2. not important; petty: »

this bloodstained rubbish of the ancient world, these puny kings and tawdry emperors (H. G. Wells). Over eighty per cent of the voting population went to the polls—a figure that makes American election intensities look puny (New Yorker).

SYNONYM(S): trivial, insignificant.

3. Obsolete. inferior in rank; younger.

╂[< Middle French puîné < Old French puisne born later < puis afterwards (ultimately < Latin postea) + ne born < Latin nāscī be born]