Definition of "minnow"

I have obſerved, as I have ſat by a ſpout of vvater, vvhich decſends from a ſtone trough about tvvo feet into a ſtream belovv, at particular ſeaſons of the year, a great number of little fiſh called minums, or pinks, throvv themſelves about tvventy times their ovvn length out of the vvater, expecting to get into the trough above.

1794, Erasmus Darwin, “Sect. XVI. Of Instinct.”, in Zoonomia; or, The Laws of Organic Life, volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], paragraph 6, page 175

I wonder King George is let venture down on this coast, where he might be snapped up in a moment like a minnow by a her'n, so near as we be to the field of Boney's vagaries!

1904, Thomas Hardy, The Dynasts: A Drama of the Napoleonic Wars, […], part first, London: Macmillan and Co.: New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, Act II, scene iv, page 74

During the past week he had indulged in sundry sly purchases, […] They included […] a remarkable collection of fishing tackle, which the sporting-goods man had declared fitted to catch anything that swam, from a whale to a minnow.

1908, Edith Van Dyne [pseudonym: Lyman Frank Baum], “The Agent”, in Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Millville, Chicago, Ill.: The Reilly & Britton Co., page 23

Let him denie that there was another shewe made of the little minnow his Brother, Dodrans Dicke, at Peter-houſe, called, Duns furens. Dick Harvey in a frenſie.

1596, Tho[mas] Nashe, “Dialogus”, in Haue with You to Saffron-Walden. Or, Gabriell Harveys Hunt is Up. […], London: […] John Danter; republished as J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, Have with You to Saffron-Walden (Miscellaneous Tracts; Temp. Eliz. and Jac. I), page 88

Heare you this Triton of the Minnoues?

c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene i], page 15, column 1

[H]e was in the receipt of some per centage on its dealings; and, participating in all its facilities for the employment of money to advantage, was considered, by the minnows among the tritons of the East, a rich man.

1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “Recognizant and Reflective”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, page 449

Having spent more than £500,000 on players last summer, Crawley can hardly be classed as minnows but they have still punched way above their weight and this kind of performance means no-one will relish pulling them out of the hat in Sunday's draw.

2011 January 29, Chris Bevan, “Torquay 0 – 1 Crawley Town”, in BBC Sport‎, archived from the original on 2023-04-06

[…] Swed House signed contracts with Ikea's former production sites, swelling from being an online retailer into an operation employing 100 people and running 10 shops across Russia and Belarus […] . But it remains a minnow compared with its Swedish predecessor, which employed 15,000 people and made $1.5bn in revenues during its last financial year in Russia.

2023 December 23, Daria Mosolova, “Russian copycat start-ups rush to fill gaps left by exodus of western brands”, in FT Weekend, Companies & Markets, page 11

[…] I have (which I will show you) an artificial minnow, that will catch a trout as well as an artificial fly, and it was made by a handsome woman that had a fine hand, and a live minnow lying by her: […]

1676, Izaak Walton, “[The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation: Part I […].] More Directions How to Fish for, and How to Make for the Trout an Artificial Minnow and Flies; with Some Merriment.”, in Richard Le Gallienne, editor, The Compleat Angler, 5th edition, London; New York, N.Y.: John Lane, The Bodley Head, published 1897, page 107