punyism

P3U1N1Y4I1S1M3

noun

The quality of being puny; puniness.

OriginEnglish puny ← Middle French puisné ← Old French puisné →
First used 18th–19th c.Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounpunyism (uncountable)
  1. obsoleteuncountableThe quality of being puny; puniness.First known use 18th–19th c.

    The punyism of a senseless word like Duke, or Count, or Earl, has ceased to please.

    1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pós
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pósti
  3. Proto-Italic*posti
  4. Old Latinposte
  5. Latinpost
  6. Proto-Indo-European*íh₂
  7. Latinea
  8. Latinposteā
  9. Vulgar Latin*postius
  10. Old Frenchpuis
  11. Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*ǵn̥h₁tós
  13. Proto-Italic*gnātos
  14. Latingnātus
  15. Latinnātus
  16. Old Frenchné
  17. Old Frenchpuisné
  18. Middle Frenchpuisné
  19. Englishpuisne
  20. Englishpuny
  21. Englishpunyism

From puny + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

punyism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punyism

MLA

“punyism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punyism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “punyism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/punyism.

Source: punyism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.