The noun is derived from Late Middle English menew, menowe (“small fish; (specifically) common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus); or stickleback (possibly the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus)”), from Old English *mynwe, an oblique form of *mynu, a variant of myne (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *muniwu (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small”). Possibly influenced by Anglo-Norman menu (“small”) and Old French menu (“small”), and English minim (“anything very minute; applied to animalcula and the like”).
The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Middle Low German mone, möne (Dutch meun, West Frisian meun)
* Old High German muniwa, munuwa, munewa (modern German Münne (“minnow”))
* Latin mēna (“small sea-fish”)
The noun is derived from Late Middle English menew, menowe (“small fish; (specifically) common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus); or stickleback (possibly the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus)”), from Old English *mynwe, an oblique form of *mynu, a variant of myne (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *muniwu (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small”). Possibly influenced by Anglo-Norman menu (“small”) and Old French menu (“small”), and English minim (“anything very minute; applied to animalcula and the like”).
The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Middle Low German mone, möne (Dutch meun, West Frisian meun)
* Old High German muniwa, munuwa, munewa (modern German Münne (“minnow”))
* Latin mēna (“small sea-fish”)
Meanings
Any of certain small fish.
I have obſerved, as I have ſat by a ſpout of vvater, vvhich decſends from a ſtone trough about tvvo feet into a ſtream belovv, at particular ſeaſons of the year, a great number of little fiſh called minums, or pinks, throvv themſelves about tvventy times their ovvn length out of the vvater, expecting to get into the trough above. 1794, Erasmus Darwin, “Sect. XVI. Of Instinct.”, in Zoonomia; or, The Laws of Organic Life, volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, paragraph 6, page 175:
I wonder King George is let venture down on this coast, where he might be snapped up in a moment like a minnow by a her'n, so near as we be to the field of Boney's vagaries! 1904, Thomas Hardy, The Dynasts: A Drama of the Napoleonic Wars, […], part first, London: Macmillan and Co.: New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, Act II, scene iv, page 74:
During the past week he had indulged in sundry sly purchases, […] They included […] a remarkable collection of fishing tackle, which the sporting-goods man had declared fitted to catch anything that swam, from a whale to a minnow. 1908, Edith Van Dyne [pseudonym: Lyman Frank Baum], “The Agent”, in Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Millville, Chicago, Ill.: The Reilly & Britton Co., →OCLC, page 23:
Any of certain small fish. ▸ The common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), a small freshwater fish of the carp family Cyprinidae which has a green back with black elongated blotches, commonly swimming in large shoals.
Most minnows are small fish with cycloid scales, soft rays supporting their fins, and toothless jaws. Some possess barbels on their upper jaw, and many species develop nuptial tubercles during the breeding season. […] Minnows are arguably the most difficult group of freshwater fishes to identify, in part because they are often small and thus the characters distinguishing them are correspondingly small. 2004, Robert G. Werner, “Carps and Minnows: Family Cyprinidae”, in Freshwater Fishes of the Northeastern United States: A Field Guide, Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, →ISBN, page 74:
Any of certain small fish. ▸ Chiefly with a qualifying word: That fish or any of a number of other (small) fish from the family Cyprinidae.
(US) Any of certain small fish. ▸ Any of those fish or other small (usually freshwater) fish from other families.
(Australia, New-Zealand) Any of certain small fish. ▸ Synonym of galaxiid (“any member of the family Galaxiidae of mostly small freshwater fish of the Southern Hemisphere”); specifically, the common galaxias, inanga, or jollytail (Galaxias maculatus).
(UK, regional) Any of certain small fish. ▸ Synonym of stickleback (family Gasterosteidae).
In quiet, sheltered places, where the water is clear but does not run too swiftly, the ‘minnie,’ as the stickleback is locally called, makes its nest by the bank. […] On these fibres the ova are deposited, and they are then either purposely partly covered with sand by the minnie, or else the particles that are brought down by the current gather over the bundle of fibres and conceal it, excepting one small spot. 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter XIX, in Wild Life in a Southern County […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 356:
(figuratively) A person or thing of relatively little consequence, importance, or value.
Having spent more than £500,000 on players last summer, Crawley can hardly be classed as minnows but they have still punched way above their weight and this kind of performance means no-one will relish pulling them out of the hat in Sunday's draw. 2011 January 29, Chris Bevan, “Torquay 0 – 1 Crawley Town”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2023:
[…]Swed House signed contracts with Ikea's former production sites, swelling from being an online retailer into an operation employing 100 people and running 10 shops across Russia and Belarus[…] . But it remains a minnow compared with its Swedish predecessor, which employed 15,000 people and made $1.5bn in revenues during its last financial year in Russia. 2023 December 23, Daria Mosolova, “Russian copycat start-ups rush to fill gaps left by exodus of western brands”, in FT Weekend (Companies & Markets section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 11:
Let him denie that there was another shewe made of the little minnow his Brother, Dodrans Dicke, at Peter-houſe, called, Duns furens. Dick Harvey in a frenſie. 1596, Tho[mas] Nashe, “Dialogus”, in Haue with You to Saffron-Walden. Or, Gabriell Harveys Hunt is Up. […], London: […] John Danter, →OCLC; republished as J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, Have with You to Saffron-Walden (Miscellaneous Tracts; Temp. Eliz. and Jac. I), [London: s.n., 1870], →OCLC, page 88:
Heare you this Triton of the Minnoues? c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 15, column 1:
[H]e was in the receipt of some per centage on its dealings; and, participating in all its facilities for the employment of money to advantage, was considered, by the minnows among the tritons of the East, a rich man. 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “Recognizant and Reflective”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 449:
The breadth of the potential impact became clear in an odd feature of the tariff list: Mr. Trump reserved his steepest rates not for America’s more economically advanced trading partners, but for economic minnows across Africa and Asia. 2025 April 10, Ned Temko, “On tariffs, Trump moves forward, and back. What does it herald for trade?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
(especially, figuratively) A person or thing of relatively little consequence, importance, or value. ▸ a team that is considered less skilled and not expected to win many, if any, of its matches.
Germany, once a great footballing nation, four-time world champion, has shrunk to a footballing minnow. 2026 June 30, Kate Connolly, quoting Peter Ahrens, “Unhappy families: Matthäus claims Germany travel plans caused World Cup rift”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
An artificial bait in the form of a small fish.
[…] I have (which I will show you) an artificial minnow, that will catch a trout as well as an artificial fly, and it was made by a handsome woman that had a fine hand, and a live minnow lying by her: […] 1676, Izaak Walton, “[The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation: Part I […].] More Directions How to Fish for, and How to Make for the Trout an Artificial Minnow and Flies; with Some Merriment.”, in Richard Le Gallienne, editor, The Compleat Angler, 5th edition, London; New York, N.Y.: John Lane, The Bodley Head, published 1897, →OCLC, page 107:
pt peixe pequeno (person or thing of relatively little consequence, importance, or value) · la phoxinus (Phoxinus phoxinus) · cy crothell y dom (Phoxinus phoxinus) · fi vaappu (artificial bait in the form of a small fish) · ro boiștean (Phoxinus phoxinus) · hu halacska (any small fish) · pl płotka (Phoxinus phoxinus) · es carpita (Phoxinus phoxinus) · it sanguinerola (Phoxinus phoxinus) · pt peixinho (any small fish) · es carpa (Phoxinus phoxinus) · enm menowe (Phoxinus phoxinus) · cy brithyll y dom (Phoxinus phoxinus) · mk си́тна ри́ба (person or thing of relatively little consequence, importance, or value) · fi mutu (Phoxinus phoxinus) · fr fretin (any small fish) · sv elritsa (Phoxinus phoxinus) · pt vairão (Phoxinus phoxinus) · grc φοξῖνος (Phoxinus phoxinus) · unm namètët (any small fish) · de Bitterfisch (Phoxinus phoxinus) · mk си́тна ри́ба (any small fish) · ru рыбка (any small fish) · gv mynnag (Phoxinus phoxinus) · gd sgiolag (any small fish) · mic so'qomu'j (Phoxinus phoxinus) · ca barb roig (Phoxinus phoxinus) · sco baanie (Phoxinus phoxinus) · ru голья́н (Phoxinus phoxinus) · fi pikkutekijä (person or thing of relatively little consequence, importance, or value) · hu kis hal (any small fish) · ga pincín (Phoxinus phoxinus) · mi pokotehe (any small fish) · bg лещанка (Phoxinus phoxinus) · fi karppi (any of a number of other (small) fish from the family Cyprinidae; other small (usually freshwater) fish from other families) · cy sili-don (Phoxinus phoxinus) · gd doirbeag (Phoxinus phoxinus) · mk ри́пче (any small fish) · hu cselle (Phoxinus phoxinus) · nl elrits (Phoxinus phoxinus) · de Elritze (Phoxinus phoxinus) · eu ezkailu (Phoxinus phoxinus) · fr vairon (Phoxinus phoxinus) · th ซิว (Phoxinus phoxinus) · cy sil y dom (Phoxinus phoxinus) · nl ondermaatse vis (any small fish) · fi sintti (any small fish) · de Pfrille (Phoxinus phoxinus) · es pececillo (any small fish) · cy sildyn (Phoxinus phoxinus) · sv kvidd (Phoxinus phoxinus) · cy pilcodyn (Phoxinus phoxinus) · sco bandy (Phoxinus phoxinus) · chr ᎠᏨᏗᏯ (Phoxinus phoxinus) · ga bodairlín (Phoxinus phoxinus) · cs střevle (Phoxinus phoxinus) · mk пи́јор (Phoxinus phoxinus) · fi pikkukala (any small fish) · hu fürge cselle (Phoxinus phoxinus) · tr golyan (Phoxinus phoxinus) · de Maipiere (Phoxinus phoxinus) · th ซิว (any small fish) · nb ørekyte (Phoxinus phoxinus) · pl płotka (any small fish)
The noun is derived from Late Middle English menew, menowe (“small fish; (specifically) common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus); or stickleback (possibly the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus)”), from Old English *mynwe, an oblique form of *mynu, a variant of myne (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *muniwu (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small”). Possibly influenced by Anglo-Norman menu (“small”) and Old French menu (“small”), and English minim (“anything very minute; applied to animalcula and the like”).
The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Middle Low German mone, möne (Dutch meun, West Frisian meun)
* Old High German muniwa, munuwa, munewa (modern German Münne (“minnow”))
* Latin mēna (“small sea-fish”)
Meanings
(intransitive) To fish for minnows (noun sense 1 and subsenses).
(intransitive) To fish, especially for trout, using minnows as bait.
fi kalastaa pikkukaloja (to fish for minnows) · fi kalastaa vaapulla (to fish using minnows as bait) · fr vaironner (to fish using minnows as bait) · fi kalastaa sinttejä (to fish for minnows)