Merriam-Webster's Word Central

May 28, 2012

petite (adjective): \puh-TEET\
What does it mean?: : having a small trim figure
How do you use it?: Even though she is petite, Regina didn't have any trouble lifting the heavy boxes full of books.
Are you a word wiz?: Finish this sentence: English speakers began using "petite" around the time that . . .

A. construction of the English manor house Little Moreton Hall began (mid 1400s).

B. the glacial expansion of the Little Ice Age began (mid 1500s).

C. Charles Perrault was writing his classic retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" (late 1600s).

D. "the Little Corporal," Napoleon Bonaparte, was born (late 1700s).

It's no small feat if you knew answer D was correct. English speakers borrowed "petite" directly from French in the late 1700s, around the time Napoleon -- the general and monarch who was known for his small stature -- was born. Before that time other English words were used to describe a lack of size: "small" and "little," which date to before the 1100s; "tiny" and "miniature," which date to the late 1500s; and "minute" and "diminutive," which date to the 1600s.