The adjective meaning very small is minuscule. It comes from the Latin minusculus, which in turn is a diminutive of minus, so the u in the second syllable of minuscule is unassailable. But miniscule, with an i instead of a u in the second syllable, is so common that some dictionaries include it.
In a Google News search, miniscule appears about once for every two minuscules. But this isn’t a new trend; the 2:1 minuscule–miniscule ratio is steady through historical searches going back to the early 20th century.
There’s probably no point in trying to keep miniscule out of the language, but careful writers still use the original spelling.
Examples
Here are a few examples of the word used well:
Yet even this minuscule cut depends on the introduction of a new tax on the mining sector … [Australian]
Newfoundlanders call these minuscule fishing villages “outports,” which gives them an apt air of edge-of-the-known. [New York Times]
And the reach of computers with internet access is still minuscule, with only 3.1% of the population connected. [BBC]
And the newer spelling appears often, even in normally well-edited publications—for example:
… the relatively miniscule number of people taking advantage of city shelters so far could signal that a large number of people have no intention of evacuating. [Wall Street Journal]
At the cute, miniscule Window Coffee—it literally seats about five people at a low bench—barista Hayley Draper is bringing “third wave” coffee to Norwich. [Guardian]
It’s serene and gorgeous and makes Mt Eden look miniscule. [New Zealand Herald]
