Petite Is a French Feminine Adjective in English
Petite means small and slim. English borrowed the feminine form of the French word and uses it for women.
Petite describes a woman as small and slim. English took the feminine form specifically: French has masculine *petit* and feminine *petite*, and only the second entered English, carrying its gender with it. Clothing retail made it a technical term for garments cut for shorter proportions rather than simply smaller sizes.
- Small and slim. *A petite woman.*
- A clothing size range. *The petite range.*
- Petit — the masculine form, used in phrases. *Petit four.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | petite | A petite frame. |
| Masculine | petit | Petit bourgeois. |
| Related | petty | Petty cash. |
| Related | petit four | A tray of petits fours. |
| Related | petition | A signed petition. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Petite sizing is about proportion.Not simply smaller.
- Petty comes from the same French word.Meaning small.
- A petit four is a small cake.Literally a small oven.
French *petit* in English
- Petty — the anglicised form, meaning trivial
- Petit four — a small cake, from *petit four*, small oven
- Petit bourgeois — the lower middle class
- Petit mal — an older term for a brief seizure
- Petty officer — a naval rank, from *petit officier*
From French *petite*, the feminine of *petit*, small, of uncertain earlier origin.
Are petty and petite related?
Yes. Petty is the anglicised spelling of the same French word, and it kept the sense of small in the figurative sense of trivial.
Why is a small cake a petit four?
From French for small oven. They were baked in the cooling oven after the main baking, at a lower temperature.