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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

minion.

A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈmɪnjən/

  1. A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.

    countable · uncountable
    The archvillain deployed his minions to simultaneously rob every bank in the city.

  2. A sycophantic follower.

    countable · uncountable

  3. The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.

    uncountable

  4. A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable

  5. An ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable

  6. Obsolete form of minium.

    alt-of · countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

First use appears c. 1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minjō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Doublet of mignon.

adj/ˈmɪnjən/

  1. Favoured, beloved; "pet".

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

First use appears c. 1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minjō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Doublet of mignon.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.