Meanings
plural modicums · plural rare modica
- A modest, small, or trifling amount.
Unable to garner even a modicum of support for his plan, he conceded to follow the others.
5 more examples
Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he vtters, his euaſions haue ears thus long. I haue bobed his braine more then he has beate my bones.
c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]He [Clement of Alexandria] ſhewes alſo that it is better (if a man do drinke) to take wine at ſupper than at dinner, yet a little modicum [...].
1607, T[homas] W[alkington], “That a Diet is to bee Obserued of Eueryone”, in The Optick Glasse of Hvmors. Or The Touchstone of a Golden Temperature, or the Philosophers Stone to Make a Golden Temper. […], London: […] Iohn Windet for Martin Clerke, […], →OCLC, page 25For as a Poor Man has as Juſt a Title to the ſmall Modicum he enjoys, as has the Rich Man to his large Poſſeſſions; ſo the Travailer has as good a Title to his Money, as has the Robber to his Life.
1708 August 8–10, “Q. I desire your Opinions, whether you think it agreeable to the Laws of Humanity to kill a Man, that Assaults us on the High Way.”, in [Aaron Hill and Marshall Smith], editors, The British Apollo, or, Curious Amusements for the Ingenious. […], volume I, number 49, London: […] J. Mayo, […], →OCLC, column 1By the great, also, he [Robert Burns] was treated in the customary fashion, entertained at their tables, and dismissed. Certain modica of pudding and praise are from time to time gladly exchanged for the fascination of his presence, which exchange once effected, the bargain is finished, and each party goes off his several way.
1836, [Thomas Carlyle], “Memoir of Burns”, in “The Ettrick Shepherd” [pseudonym; James Hogg] and William Motherwell, editors, The Works of Robert Burns, volume V, Glasgow; Edinburgh: Archibald Fullarton, and Co. […], →OCLC, chapter XII (General Character of Burns), page 227And time would fail us to enumerate the hundreds of lesser spirits who have employed their small modica of light, which they mistook for genius, as lamps allowing them to see their way more clearly down to the chambers of death.
1851 August, “Infirmities of Media”, in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, volume III, number 15, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 327, column 1Synonyms: iota, jot, tittle, ace, atom, thought, atomy, aught · Antonyms: abundance, battalion, arseload, assload, bellyload, boatload, brimful, busload
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA modest, small, or trifling amount.
Origin
- Latinmodica
- Proto-Indo-European*med-“to measure”
- Latinmodicum“a little, a small amount”
- Middle Englishmodicum
- Englishmodicum
From Middle English modicum, from Latin modicum (“a little, a small amount”), a noun use of the neuter form of modicus (“moderate; restrained, temperate; reasonable”) + -cum (suffix forming neuter nouns). Modicus is derived from modus (“a measure; a bound, limit”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”)) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). The plural form modica is derived from Latin modica.
More words from Middle English, Latin, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic نَزْر
- نَزْر (nazr)modest, small, or trifling amount
Bulgarian малко количество, минимално количество
- малко количество (malko količestvo)modest, small, or trifling amount
- минимално количество (minimalno količestvo)modest, small, or trifling amount
Catalan borrall, bri
- borrallmodest, small, or trifling amount
- brimodest, small, or trifling amount
- engrunamodest, small, or trifling amount
- micamodest, small, or trifling amount
- mínimmodest, small, or trifling amount
- pizcamodest, small, or trifling amount
Chinese Cantonese 少量
- 少量 (siu² loeng⁶)modest, small, or trifling amount
Chinese Mandarin 少量
- 少量 (shǎoliàng)modest, small, or trifling amount
Czech trocha, troška
- trochamodest, small, or trifling amount
- troškamodest, small, or trifling amount
- špetkamodest, small, or trifling amount
Dutch beetje, weinigje
- beetjemodest, small, or trifling amount
- weinigjemodest, small, or trifling amount
Finnish rahtu, hippu
- rahtumodest, small, or trifling amount
- hippumodest, small, or trifling amount
- hiukkamodest, small, or trifling amount
- hivenmodest, small, or trifling amount
French minimum, modicum
- minimummodest, small, or trifling amount
- modicummodest, small, or trifling amount
- montant modiquemodest, small, or trifling amount
German Bisschen, Hauch
- Bisschenmodest, small, or trifling amount
- Hauchmodest, small, or trifling amount
- Spurmodest, small, or trifling amount
- Winzigkeitmodest, small, or trifling amount
- Mindestmaßmodest, small, or trifling amount
Hungarian egy kevés, kevéske
- egy kevésmodest, small, or trifling amount
- kevéskemodest, small, or trifling amount
- cseppnyimodest, small, or trifling amount
- egy csepp/csöppmodest, small, or trifling amount
- szemernyimodest, small, or trifling amount
Italian un po' di
- un po' dimodest, small, or trifling amount
Japanese ちょっぴり, 少量
- ちょっぴり (choppiri)modest, small, or trifling amount
- 少量 (shōryō)modest, small, or trifling amount
Latin modicum
- modicummodest, small, or trifling amount
Māori kanehe, takutakunga
- kanehemodest, small, or trifling amount
- takutakungamodest, small, or trifling amount
- taungamodest, small, or trifling amount
Polish odrobina, krzta
- odrobinamodest, small, or trifling amount
- krztamodest, small, or trifling amount
- krztynamodest, small, or trifling amount
Portuguese bocadinho, mínimo
- bocadinhomodest, small, or trifling amount
- mínimomodest, small, or trifling amount
- pingomodest, small, or trifling amount
- um pouco demodest, small, or trifling amount
Romanian minimum
- minimummodest, small, or trifling amount
Russian чу́точка, ма́лость
- чу́точка (čútočka)modest, small, or trifling amount
- ма́лость (málostʹ)modest, small, or trifling amount
- ничтожно коли́чество (ničtožno kolíčestvo)modest, small, or trifling amount
Spanish ápice, resquicio
- ápicemodest, small, or trifling amount
- resquiciomodest, small, or trifling amount
- grismamodest, small, or trifling amount
- mirruscamodest, small, or trifling amount
- mirringamodest, small, or trifling amount
- menudenciamodest, small, or trifling amount
- módicomodest, small, or trifling amount
- modicidadmodest, small, or trifling amount
Swahili kiasi
- kiasimodest, small, or trifling amount
Swedish gnutta, uns
- gnuttamodest, small, or trifling amount
- unsmodest, small, or trifling amount
Turkish nebze
- nebzemodest, small, or trifling amount
Welsh mymryn
- mymrynmodest, small, or trifling amount
Yiddish שפּור
- שפּור (shpur)modest, small, or trifling amount
Cite this entry
modicum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/modicum
“modicum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/modicum. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “modicum,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/modicum.
Source: modicum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.