Not only is pusillanimous used to mean timid, there is a native fish around
here, Galaxiella pusilla, so named because it is very small and shy. (Rare,
vulnerable and hard to find).
It was named in 1936, before your schooling, I think.
Almost all the Victorian records of the species are attributable to a friend of
mine, a large fellow devoted to a tiny fish.
In his honour, I use the word whenever an opportunity presents.
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.soultheft.com
Author/Publisher: The SLR Compendium - http://www.blurb.com/books/3732813
On 18/05/2013, at 3:54 PM, Chris Barker wrote:
> Thanks, Moose. That's indeed what it says in my latest reference -- the
> Concise Oxford on my iPhone. But I was taught at school that it meant
> "small-minded" and that's the meaning of the Latin composition. It seems a
> bit of a stretch to get from that to "timid", so I'll stick to my meaning,
> thanks (not that I have used it more than a handful of times since school).
--
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