petty
/ˈpetɪ/adjective
(pettier, pettiest)
1
- of little importance; trivial不重要的; 琐碎的; 小的：
the petty divisions of party politics.
政党政治中的小分歧。
1.1
- (of behaviour) characterized by an undue concern for trivial matters, especially in a small-minded or spiteful way（行为）小气的; 卑劣的：
he was prone to petty revenge on friends and family.
他总爱对朋友和家人进行卑劣报复。
2
- attrib. of secondary or lesser importance, rank, or scale; minor次要的; 职位低的, 下级的; 细微的：
a petty official.
小官吏。
2.1
- Law (of a crime) of lesser importance【律】（罪行）轻微的, 次要的：
petty theft.
小偷小摸。比较GRAND.
派生词
pettily
adverbpettiness
noun词源
late Middle English （in the sense 'small in size'）： from a phonetic spelling of the pronunciation of French petit 'small'. Compare with PETIT.