minuscule

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
minuscule /ˈmɪnəskjuːl/

▶adjective

• 1 extremely tiny.

• 2 of or in lower-case letters, as distinct from capitals or uncials.

  ■ of or in a small cursive script of the Roman alphabet, with ascenders and descenders, developed in the 7th century ad.

▶noun minuscule script.

■ a small or lower-case letter.

– derivatives
minuscular /mɪˈnʌskjʊlə/ adjective.

– origin C18: from Fr., from L. minuscula (littera) ‘somewhat smaller (letter)’.

usage: The correct spelling is minuscule rather than miniscule. The latter is a common error, which has arisen by analogy with other words beginning with mini-, where the meaning is also ‘very small’.