minnow

Meanings

Noun

• A small freshwater fish of the carp family, Phoxinus phoxinus.
• Any small fish.
• A relatively small and insignificant person or organization.

Verb

• To fish for minnows.
• To fish (especially for trout) using a minnow as bait.

Origin

• From Middle English menowe, from Old English *mynwe, oblique form of *mynu, unattested variant of myne, from Proto-West Germanic *muniwu, from Proto-Indo-European *men-. Cognate with Middle Low German mone, möne (West Frisian meun, Dutch meun), Old High German muniwa, munuwa, munewa (German Münne).