View source for mince

==English==

===Alternative forms===
* {{alt|en|minch||dialectal}}
* {{alt|en|minse||obsolete}}

===Etymology===
{{root|en|ine-pro|*mey- (small)}}
From {{inh|en|enm|mincen}}, {{m|enm|minsen}}; partly from {{inh|en|ang|minsian}}, {{m|ang|ġeminsian|t=to make less, make smaller, diminish}}, from {{inh|en|gmw-pro|*minnisōn}}, from {{inh|en|gem-pro|*minnisōną|t=to make less}}; partly from {{der|en|fro|mincer}}, {{m|fro|mincier||to cut into small pieces}}, from {{m|fro|mince||slender, slight, puny}}, from {{der|en|frk|*minsto}}, {{m|frk|*minnisto}}, superlative of {{m|frk|*min}}, {{m|frk|*minn||small, less}}, from {{der|en|gem-pro|*minniz||less}}; both from {{der|en|ine-pro|*mey-||small, little}}. Cognate with {{cog|osx|minsōn||to make less, make smaller}}, {{cog|odt|minson|t=to make smaller}}, {{cog|got|𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌶𐌽𐌰𐌽||to become less, diminish}}, {{cog|sv|minska||to reduce, lessen}}, {{cog|got|𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃||slender, slight}}. More at {{l|en|min}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{IPA|en|/mɪns/}}
* {{audio|en|LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-mince.wav|a=UK}}
* {{rhymes|en|ɪns|s=1}}
* {{homophones|en|mints}}

===Noun===
{{en-noun|~}}

# {{lb|en|uncountable}} [[fine|Finely]] [[chopped]] [[meat]]; [[minced meat]].
#: {{ux|en|'''Mince''' tastes really good [[fried]] in a pan with some chopped [[onion]] and [[tomato]].}}
# {{lb|en|uncountable}} Finely chopped [[mixed]] [[fruit]] used in [[Christmas]] [[pies]]; [[mincemeat]].
#: {{ux|en|During Christmas time my dad loves to eat '''mince''' pies.}}
# {{lb|en|countable}} An [[affected]] (often [[dainty]] or [[short]] and [[precise]]) [[gait]].
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1949|author=w:Truman Capote|chapter=Children on their Birthdays|title=A Tree of Night and Other Stories|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/tree-of-night-and-other-stories/oclc/471720722 |page=36|passage=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.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1963|author= w:John Fowles|title= w:The Collector| url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/collector/oclc/438785203| page=15| passage=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.}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=2010|author=Tom Zoellner|title=Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World
|passage=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 [[carnation]]s to the wives of men with whom he dined.}}
# {{lb|en|countable}} An [[affected]] [[manner]], [[especially]] of speaking; an affectation.
#* {{quote-journal|en|year=1896|author=George Bernard Shaw|title=Madame Sans-Gene|journal=London Saturday Review|passage=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.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1928|author=R. M. Pope|title=The Education Outlook|volume=80|page=285
|passage=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?}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=2008|author=Opie Read|title=The Colossus|page=95
|passage=[...] a [[smiling]] man, [[portly]] and [[impressive]], coming toward them with a [[dignified]] '''mince''' in his walk.}}
# {{lb|en|countable|Cockney rhyming slang|mostly|in the plural}} An [[eye]] (from {{m|en|mince pie}}).
#* {{quote-web|en| date=2009-05-21| accessdate=2017-03-22| author=planetdave| work=PistonHeads| title=Speed traps| url=http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=695639| passage=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.}}
# {{lb|en|UK|slang|uncountable}} Something [[worthless]]; [[rubbish]].
#: {{ux|en|That band's new album is total '''mince'''.}}

====Quotations====
* {{quote-text|en|year=1849|author=w:Herman Melville|title={{w|Mardi|Mardi, and a Voyage Thither}}
|passage=Not, — let me [[hurry]] to say, — that I put hand in tar bucket with a [[squeamish]] air, or [[ascended]] the [[rigging]] with a Chesterfieldian '''mince'''.}}

====Derived terms====
* {{l|en|thick as mince}}

====Translations====
{{trans-top-also|finely chopped meat|ground beef}}
* Afrikaans: {{t|af|maalvleis}}
* Apache:
*: Western Apache: {{t|apw|itsį’ ik’aaní}}
* Arabic: {{t|ar|[[لَحْم]] [[فرم|مَفْرُوم]]|m}}
* Armenian: {{t-needed|hy}}
* Azerbaijani: {{t|az|qiymə}}
* Belarusian: {{t|be|фарш|m}} {{qualifier|semi-finished}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|кайма́|f}}
* Catalan: {{t|ca|carn picada|f}}, {{t|ca|carn picolada|f}}, {{t|ca|carn capolada|f}}, {{t|ca|carn trinxada|f}}
* Chinese:
*: Cantonese: {{t|yue|肉碎|tr=juk6 seoi3}}, {{t|yue|免治|tr=min5 zi6}}
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|肉餡|tr=ròuxiàn}}, {{t+|cmn|醢|tr=hǎi}}, {{t+|cmn|碎肉|tr=suìròu}}, {{t|cmn|免治肉|tr=miǎnzhìròu}}
* Cornish: {{t|kw|kig divynys|m}}
* Czech: {{t+|cs|sekaná|f}} {{qualifier|meal}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|gehakt|n}}
* Estonian: {{t+|et|hakkliha}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|jauheliha}}
* French: {{t+|fr|hachis|m}}, {{t|fr|viande hachée|f}}
* Georgian: {{t-needed|ka}}
* German: {{t+|de|Hackfleisch|n}}, {{t+|de|Gehacktes|n}}, {{t+|de|Hack|n}}, {{t+|de|Hackepeter|m}}, {{t+|de|Faschiertes|n}} {{q|Austria}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|κιμάς|m}}
*: Ancient: {{t|grc|περίκομμα|n}}, {{t|grc|ἰσίκιον|n}}
* Hungarian:{{t+|hu|vagdalt}}
* Ido: {{t+|io|hachajo}}, {{t|io|hachita karno}}
* Indonesian: {{t|id|daging cincang}}
* Irish: {{t|ga|mionfheoil|f}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|macinato|m}}
* Japanese: {{t+|ja|挽肉|tr=ひきにく, hikiniku|sc=Jpan}}, {{t|ja|肉餡|tr=にくあん, nikuan|sc=Jpan}}
* Kazakh: {{t-needed|kk}}
* Korean: {{t|ko|민스미트}}, {{t|ko|고기소}}
* Latin: {{t|la|minūtal|n}}
* Lithuanian: {{t|lt|zuikis|m}} {{qualifier|meal}}, {{t|lt|faršas|m}} {{qualifier|semi-finished}}
* Macedonian: {{t|mk|мелено месо|n}}
* Malay: {{t|ms|daging cincang}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|mīti kōnatunatu}}, {{t|mi|mīti mōrohe}}
* Mongolian:
*: Cyrillic: {{t|mn|татсан мах}}
*: Mongolian: {{t|mn|ᠲᠠᠲᠠᠭᠰᠠᠨ ᠮᠢᠬ᠎ᠠ}}
* Norwegian:
*: Bokmål: {{t+|nb|kjøttdeig|m}}, {{t|nb|farse|m}}
*: Nynorsk: {{t|nn|kjøttdeig|m}}, {{t|nn|kjøtdeig|m}}, {{t|nn|farse|m}}
* Ottoman Turkish: {{t|ota|قیمه|tr=kıyma}}
* Persian: {{t+|fa|قیمه|tr=qeyme}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|mięso mielone|n}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|carne moída|f}}
* Punjabi: {{t|pa|ਕ਼ੀਮਾ|m}}
* Romanian: {{t|ro|carne tocată|f}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|фарш|m}} {{qualifier|semi-finished}}
* Scottish Gaelic: {{t|gd|mions|m}}
* Serbo-Croatian:
*: Cyrillic: {{t|sh|[[млети|млевено]] [[месо]]|n}}, {{t|sh|[[мљети|мљевено]] [[месо]]|n}}
*: Latin: {{t|sh|[[mleti|mleveno]] [[meso]]|n}}, {{t|sh|[[mljeti|mljeveno]] [[meso]]|n}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|picadillo|m}}, {{t|es|carne picada|f}}, {{t|es|carne molida|f}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|köttfärs}}, {{t|sv|malet kött|n}} {{qualifier|Finland Swedish}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|kıyma}}
* Turkmen: {{t-needed|tk}}
* Ukrainian: {{t|uk|фарш|m}} {{qualifier|semi-finished}}
* Uzbek: {{t+|uz|qiyma}}
* Vietnamese: {{t|vi|thịt băm}}, {{t|vi|thịt vằm}}
* Welsh: {{t+|cy|briwgig|m}}
* Yiddish: {{t|yi|האַקפֿלייש|n}}, {{t|yi|קרעפּלפֿלייש|n}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-see|finely chopped mixed fruit|mincemeat}}

{{trans-top|short precise step}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{qualifier|no exact term exists, see:}} {{t+|cmn|扭捏|tr=niǔnie}}, {{t+|cmn|扭扭捏捏|tr=niǔniuniēniē}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|sipsutus}}
* Norwegian: {{t|no|tripping|c}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|affected manner}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|扭捏|tr=niǔnie}}, {{t+|cmn|扭扭捏捏|tr=niǔniuniēniē}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|hienostelu}}, {{t+|fi|sievistely}}
{{trans-bottom}}

===Verb===
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|transitive}} To make [[less]]; to make small.
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[lessen]]; to [[diminish]]; to diminish in [[speak]]ing; to [[speak of]] [[lightly]] or [[slightingly]]; to [[minimise]].
#: {{syn|en|Thesaurus:diminish}}
# {{lb|en|transitive|rare}} To [[effect]] [[mincingly]].
# {{lb|en|transitive|cooking}} To [[cut]] into very [[small]] [[piece]]s; to [[chop]] [[finely]].
#: {{ux|en|Butchers often use machines to '''mince''' meat.}}
# {{lb|en|archaic|transitive|figuratively}} To [[suppress]] or [[weaken]] the [[force]] of.
#: {{syn|en|extenuate|palliate|weaken}}
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1681|author=w:John Dryden|title=The Spanish Friar, or the Double Discovery
|passage=Siren, now '''mince''' the sin, / And mollify damnation with a phrase.}}
# To [[say]] or [[utter]] [[vaguely]] (not [[directly]] or [[frankly]]).
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Henry 5|act=V|scene=ii|passage=I know no ways to '''mince''' it in love, but directly to say &mdash; "I love you."}}
#* {{quote-video game|en|developer=w:BioWare|title={{w|Mass Effect: Andromeda}}|genre=[[science fiction|Science Fiction]]|location=Redwood City|publisher=Electronic Arts|year=2017|system=PC|scene=ELAADEN (HNS) - Nora Tallis Found Alive|oclc=1261299044|text=Despite prolonged exposure to harsh conditions, medics say Nora Tallis returned to the Nexus in stable condition. In a statement to HNS, Tallis did not '''mince''' words. "Never send me to that hellhole again."}}
#: {{ux|en|to '''mince''' one's words}}
#: {{ux|en|a '''minced''' oath}}
# {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[affect]]; to [[pronounce]] [[affectedly]] or with an [[accent]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1869|author=Alexander J. Ellis|title=On Early English Pronunciation, with special reference to Shakespeare and Chaucer|section=part 1, page 194
|passage=In some districts of England ''ll'' is sounded like ''w'', thus ''bowd'' (booud) for BOLD, ''bw'' (buu) for BULL, ''caw'' (kau) for CALL. But this pronunciation is merely a provincialism, and not to be imitated unless you wish to '''mince''' like these blunderers.}}
#* '''1905''', George Henderson, ''The Gaelic Dialects, IV'', in the ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'', published by Kuno Meyer and L. Chr. Stern, volume 5, page 98:
#*: One may hear some speakers in Oxford '''mince''' ''brother'' into ''brover'' (brëvë); ''Bath'' into ''Baf''; ''both'' into ''bof''.
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1915| author=w:Willa Cather| title=''The Song of the Lark''| url=| page=| passage="The preacher said it was sympathetic," she '''minced''' the word, remembering Mr. Larsen's manner.}}
# {{lb|en|intransitive}} To [[walk]] with [[short]] [[step]]s; to walk in a [[prim]], [[affected]] [[manner]].
#* {{RQ:Orwell Animal Farm|1
|passage=At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap, came '''mincing''' daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar.}}
#* {{RQ:KJV|Isaiah|3|16|passage=The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, '''mincing''' as they go.}}
#* {{RQ:Shakespeare Merchant of Venice|act=III|scene=iv|page=177|column=1|passage=I'll {{...}} turn two '''mincing''' steps into a manly stride.}}
# {{lb|en|intransitive}} To [[act]] or [[talk]] with [[affected]] [[nicety]]; to [[affect]] [[delicacy]] in [[manner]].
#: {{ux|en|I love going to gay bars and seeing drag queens '''mince''' around on stage.}}

====Usage notes====
Current usage in the sense of "to say or utter vaguely" is mostly limited to the phrase "mince words"; e.g., "I won't mince words with you".

====Derived terms====
{{der3|en
|mincemeat
|mince pie
|mincer|mince up
|mince one's words
|mince words|mince matters
|minsitive}}

====Translations====
{{trans-top|chop fine}}
* Afrikaans: {{t+|af|maal}}
* Albanian: {{t-needed|sq}}
* Armenian: {{t+|hy|աղալ}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|кълцам}}, {{t+|bg|меля}}
* Chinese:
*: Cantonese: {{t|yue|切碎|tr=cit3 seoi3}}
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|剁碎|tr=duòsuì}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|hakken}}
* Esperanto: {{t-needed|eo}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|hienontaa}}, {{t+|fi|silputa}}
* French: {{t+|fr|hacher}}
* Galician: {{t+|gl|picar}}, {{t+|gl|trillar}}
* Georgian: {{t-needed|ka}}
* German: {{t+|de|hacken}}, {{t+|de|wolfen}}, {{t|de|kleinhacken}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|ψιλοκόβω}}, {{t+|el|λιανίζω}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|tritare}}, {{t+|it|macinare}}
* Khmer: {{t+|km|ចិញ្ច្រាំ}}
* Macedonian: {{t|mk|меле}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|kōnatunatu}}
* Mongolian: {{t-needed|mn}}
* Nepali: {{t-needed|ne}}
* Norman: {{t|nrf|hadgi}}
* Norwegian: {{t|no|finhakke}}
* Persian: {{t+|fa|خرد کردن|tr=xord-kardan}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|mielić|impf}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|picar}}
* Quechua: {{t|qu|ichiy}}
* Romanian: {{t+|ro|toca}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|кроши́ть}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|picar}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|finhacka}}
* Thai: {{t+|th|สับ}}
* Tibetan: {{t|bo|བཙབས}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|kıymak}}
* Vietnamese: {{t+|vi|băm}}, {{t+|vi|bằm}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|To suppress or weaken the force of}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|смекчавам}}
* German: {{t+|de|abschwächen}}, {{t+|de|unterdrücken}}, {{t+|de|mildern}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|moderare}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|преуменьша́ть}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|walk in short precise step}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|扭捏|tr=niǔnie}}, {{t+|cmn|扭扭捏捏|tr=niǔniuniēniē}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|sipsuttaa}}
* German: {{t+|de|trippeln}}
* Norwegian: {{t|no|trippe}}
* Quechua: {{t|qu|ichiy}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|семенить}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|act or talk with affected nicety}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|扭捏|tr=niǔnie}}, {{t+|cmn|扭扭捏捏|tr=niǔniuniēniē}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|sievistellä}}, {{t+|fi|keimailla}}
* Greek: {{t|el|πουστοφέρνω}}
{{trans-bottom}}

===References===
* {{R:Webster 1913}}

===Anagrams===
* {{anagrams|en|a=ceimn|nemic}}

{{C|en|Foods|Gaits}}

==Czech==

===Etymology===
{{bor+|cs|de|Münze}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{cs-IPA}}
* {{rhymes|cs|ɪntsɛ|s=2}}

===Noun===
{{cs-noun|f}}

# [[coin]]
#: {{syn|cs|peníz|moneta}}
#: {{hypo|cs|měďák|stříbrňák|zlaťák}}
#: {{uxi|cs|hodit si mincí|flip a coin}}

====Declension====
{{cs-ndecl|f}}

====Related terms====
{{col-auto|cs
|mincovna
|mincovní}}

===Further reading===
* {{R:cs:PSJC}}
* {{R:cs:SSJC}}
* {{R:cs:IJP}}

{{C|cs|Coins}}

==French==

===Pronunciation===
* {{fr-IPA}}
* {{audio|fr|Fr-mince.ogg}}

===Etymology 1===
Derived from the verb {{m|fr|mincer}}, from {{inh|fr|fro|mincier}}, from {{der|fr|VL.||*minūtiāre}} (cf. also {{m|fr|menuiser}}), from {{der|fr|la|minūtia}}.

====Adjective====
{{fr-adj}}

# [[thin]], [[slim]], [[slender]]

=====Derived terms=====
* {{l|fr|amincir}}
* {{l|fr|minceur}}
* {{l|fr|mincir}}

===Etymology 2===
A [[minced oath]] of {{m|fr|merde||shit}}.

====Interjection====
{{fr-intj}}

# [[drat]]!, [[darn]]!
# [[wow]]!, [[blimey]]!

===Further reading===
* {{R:fr:TLFi}}

==Irish==

===Noun===
{{head|ga|noun form|g=f}}

# {{inflection of|ga|minc|t=mink||gen|s}}

===Mutation===
{{ga-mut}}

==Romanian==

===Noun===
{{ro-noun|f|minci}}

# {{obsolete form of|ro|minge}}

====Declension====
{{ro-noun-f-e|minc}}

===References===
* {{R:MDA2}}

==Slovak==

===Noun===
{{head|sk|noun form}}

# {{inflection of|sk|minca||gen|s|;|nom//acc|p}}