Meaning

noun painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)

noun a copy that reproduces a person or thing in greatly reduced size

adjective being on a very small scale

originEtymology tree Latin miniumder. Italian minio Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Italian -are Italian miniare Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh₂? Latin -tūra Italian -tura Italian miniaturabor. English miniature Borrowed from Italian miniatura (“manuscript illumination”), from miniare (“to illuminate”), from Latin miniō (“to colour red”), from minium (“red lead,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0