mince en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /mɪns/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (Received-Pronunciation) audio
Etymology
From Middle English mincen, minsen; partly from Old English minsian, ġeminsian (“to make less, make smaller, diminish”), from Proto-West Germanic *minnisōn, from Proto-Germanic *minnisōną (“to make less”); partly from Old French mincer, mincier (“to cut into small pieces”), from mince (“slender, slight, puny”), from Frankish *minsto, *minnisto, superlative of *min, *minn (“small, less”), from Proto-Germanic *minniz (“less”); both from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small, little”). Cognate with Old Saxon minsōn (“to make less, make smaller”), Old Dutch minson (“to make smaller”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌶𐌽𐌰𐌽 (minznan, “to become less, diminish”), Swedish minska (“to reduce, lessen”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (mins, “slender, slight”). More at min.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) Finely chopped meat; minced meat.
Mince tastes really good fried in a pan with some chopped onion and tomato.
-
(uncountable) Finely chopped mixed fruit used in Christmas pies; mincemeat.
During Christmas time my dad loves to eat mince pies.
-
(countable) An affected (often dainty or short and precise) gait.
A wiry little girl in a starched, lemon-colored party dress, she sassed along with a grownup mince, one hand on her hip, the other supporting a spinsterish umbrella.
1949, Truman Capote, “Children on their Birthdays”, in A Tree of Night and Other Stories, page 36:His skin was china pale, he walked with a slight mince, and his silver mustache was always trimmed sharp; it was his custom to send a bouquet of pink carnations to the wives of men with whom he dined.
2010, Tom Zoellner, Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World:She was just the same; she had a light way of walking and she always wore flat heels so she didn't have that mince like most girls.
1963, John Fowles, The Collector, page 15:
-
(countable) An affected manner, especially of speaking; an affectation.
[...] a smiling man, portly and impressive, coming toward them with a dignified mince in his walk.
2008, Opie Read, The Colossus, page 95:A very moderate degree of accomplishment in this direction would make an end of stage smart speech, which, like the got-up Oxford mince and drawl of a foolish curate, is the mark of a snob.
1896, George Bernard Shaw, “Madame Sans-Gene”, in London Saturday Review:And, further, who has not heard what someone has christened the "Oxford" mince, where every consonant is mispronounced and every vowel gets a wrong value?
1928, R. M. Pope, The Education Outlook, volume 80, page 285:
-
(Cockney, countable, in-plural, slang) An eye (from mince pie).
Lancashire is a bit nazi about speed and the M6 in that area can be either clear or infested with vans and their helicopter. On the good side the vans tend to be on well sighted bridges so just keep the old minces peeled.
2009 May 21, planetdave, “Speed traps”, in PistonHeads, retrieved 22 Mar 2017:
-
(UK, slang, uncountable) Something worthless; rubbish.
That band's new album is total mince.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| minch | alternative, dialectal | lexicographic | |
| minse | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| minces | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
thick as mince · beef mince · minceless · mincy · mince steak · mincelike
Descendants
Translations (96)
id daging cincang (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · uk фарш (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ca carn capolada (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ro carne tocată (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · pl kroczek (short precise step) · vi thịt băm (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ko 고기소 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cmn 扭捏 (short precise step) · sh млевено месо (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · de Hackfleisch (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ko 민스미트 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · io hachita karno (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ru фарш (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · pl afektacja (affected manner) · fi jauheliha (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ast picadíu (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · et hakkliha (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · la minūtal (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · sh mleveno meso (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ga mionfheoil (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ca carn picada (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cmn 肉餡 /肉馅 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ca carn picolada (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · grc ἰσίκιον (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · az qiymə (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · fi sipsutus (short precise step) · cmn 扭捏 (affected manner) · yue 肉碎 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cs sekaná (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · de Hackepeter (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · io hachajo (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · es carne molida (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cs mleté maso (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · mn ᠲᠠᠲᠠᠭᠰᠠᠨ ᠮᠢᠬᠠ (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · sh mljeveno meso (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · pa ਕ਼ੀਮਾ (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · kw kig divynys (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · nb kjøttdeig (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · bg кайма́ (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · mi mīti mōrohe (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · sv köttfärs (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · pl mięso mielone (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cmn 醢 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ca carn trinxada (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ast picadiyu (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · nb farse (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · nn farse (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · sv malet kött (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cmn 免治肉 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · grc περίκομμα (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · no tripping (short precise step) · cmn 扭扭捏捏 (short precise step) · ota قیمه (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · be фарш (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ast picadiellu (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ja 挽肉 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · yue 免治 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · mk мелено месо (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ms daging cincang (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · sh мљевено месо (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · de Faschiertes (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · gd mions (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · el κιμάς (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · es carne picada (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cmn 扭扭捏捏 (affected manner) · af maalvleis (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · cy briwgig (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · vi thịt vằm (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · it macinato (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · hu vagdalt (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · uz qiyma (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · nl gehakt (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ast carne picao (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · fi hienostelu (affected manner) · nn kjøttdeig (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · mn татсан мах (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · es picadillo (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · mi mīti kōnatunatu (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · pt carne moída (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ar لَحْم مَفْرُوم (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · fa-ira گوشت چرخکرده (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · nn kjøtdeig (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · de Gehacktes (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · lt zuikis (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · fr hachis (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · de Hack (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · apw itsį’ ik’aaní (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · fi sievistely (affected manner) · cmn 碎肉 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · lt faršas (semi-finished) (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · tr kıyma (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · yi האַקפֿלייש (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · fr viande hachée (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · fa قیمه (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · ja 肉餡 (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef) · yi קרעפּלפֿלייש (finely chopped meat — see also ground beef)