Being on a small scale; much reduced from the reality; as, a miniature copy.
To represent or depict in a small compass, or on a small scale.
An independent illustration, as opposed to a scene incorporated into another element of the decorative scheme such as a border of initial. It takes its name from the Latin miniare, meaning "to color with read" (the adornment of books originally was executed in red, or minium).
A miniature is anything smaller than life size, most often scaled on a 1:12 ratio. This would mean that one inch would equal one foot, making it 1/12 life-size.
An independent painting in a manuscript which generally illustrates the text. The name derives not from their relatively small size but from the Latin word minum, which is a red pigment used in paint.
A picture painted by hand in an illuminated manuscript; A small painting or portrait capable of being held in the hand or worn as jewellery.
This is an illustration that is not related to a specific text. The root of the word is miniare, Latin meaning: “to color with red.
A picture, frequently narrative, used as illustration in a manuscript (from Latin minium, a red pigment used in manuscript painting).
Any fine and detailed painting, usually a portrait, executed on a small scale, in watercolor, gouache, enamel or oil on a support of parchment, ivory or copper.
painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)
being on a very small scale; "a miniature camera"
a separate illustration with its own border
a small-scale reproduction, or a small variation
a very small painting that's extremely detailed
a full page or half page painting in a manuscript
From the Latin miniare, referring to the red pigment minium that is often used for special lettering and decoration in manuscripts. The term originally referred to the paintings in medieval illuminated manuscripts, some of which can be quite large. Only later, when the word miniature came to be used for portraits mounted in lockets and brooches, did the term become associated with small size.
a work of art where they represented object is created on a much-reduced scale.
A small-scale painting. Miniatures have a variety of uses, from illustrations within albums and manuscripts to intimate portraits.
a full page or smaller painting in a manuscript
( link / ) A tiny figure used to represent a character or other game element, most often in conjunction with a battlemat. Miniatures are available both painted and unpainted.
In medieval Latin, miniare meant to work with minium, so one who worked in it was called a miniator, and the things that he was to miniate were called miniatura. So miniatures were originally the sections of a manuscript that were to be painted in red. Over time, as manuscripts were small and incidental, the word miniature came to mean diminutive and now refers particularly to separate illuminations within the body of the text.
A very small painting, especially a portrait on ivory, glass, or metal.
" Illuminated matter or work; a picture in an illuminated manuscript, an illumination. In early use also: the action or process of rubricating letters or of illuminating a manuscript." (From the OED.n.6) Glossary Glossary (History of Reading)
Today, the word miniature is usually understood to mean a small painting, often a portrait. In a medieval manuscript, miniatures are illustrations to the text in the broadest possible sense. They can range in size from little scenes found inside an initial to a full page picture with no text.
The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment. The generally small scale of the medieval pictures has led secondly to an etymological confusion of the term with minuteness and to its application to small paintings (see portrait miniature).