- Petit maitre
- Petit Pet"it, a. [F. See {Petty}.]
Small; little; insignificant; mean; -- Same as {Petty}.
[Obs., except in legal language.]
[1913 Webster]
By what small, petit hints does the mind catch hold of and recover a vanishing notion. --South. [1913 Webster]
{Petit constable}, an inferior civil officer, subordinate to the high constable.
{Petit jury}, a jury of twelve men, impaneled to try causes at the bar of a court; -- so called in distinction from the grand jury.
{Petit larceny}, the stealing of goods of, or under, a certain specified small value; -- opposed to grand larceny. The distinction is abolished in England.
{Petit ma[^i]tre}. [F., lit., little master.] A fop; a coxcomb; a ladies' man. --Goldsmith.
{Petit serjeanty} (Eng. Law), the tenure of lands of the crown, by the service of rendering annually some implement of war, as a bow, an arrow, a sword, a flag, etc.
{Petit treason}, formerly, in England, the crime of killing a person to whom the offender owed duty or subjection, as one's husband, master, mistress, etc. The crime is now not distinguished from murder. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
