Petit
Petit (pet"y; F. pe*te") , adjective
[F. See Petty.]
Small; little; insignificant; mean; -- Same as Petty. [Obsolete, except in legal language.]
By what small, petit hints does the mind catch hold of and recover a vanishing notion.
Collocations (6)
Petit constable , an inferior civil officer, subordinate to the high constable.
Petit jury , a jury of twelve men, impaneled to try causes at the bar of a court; -- so called in distinction from the grand jury.
Petit larceny , the stealing of goods of, or under, a certain specified small value; -- opposed to grand larceny. The distinction is abolished in England.
Petit maître , A fop; a coxcomb; a ladies' man. — Goldsmith
Petit serjeanty (Eng. Law) , the tenure of lands of the crown, by the service of rendering annually some implement of war, as a bow, an arrow, a sword, a flag, etc.
Petit treason , formerly, in England, the crime of killing a person to whom the offender owed duty or subjection, as one's husband, master, mistress, etc. The crime is now not distinguished from murder.