noun / adjective

miniature

MIN-uh-chur/ˈmɪnətʃər/

A very small or reduced-scale version of something.

The miniature rocking chair sits on its full-sized counterpart.

A tiny, detailed wooden rocking-chair model sits on the seat of a matching full-size rocking chair, making the reduction in scale immediately visible.
Etymology

Italian miniatura referred to manuscript illumination or a small picture. Because manuscript pictures were small, the word came to describe reduced-scale representations and then things much smaller than their natural size.

In context

Overheat Videotape Archives23:07
a miniature Tyrannosaur the collared lizard Hunts on two legs
Weird Nature Episode 1: Marvellous Motion (21st March 2002) BBC One VHS Rip

More examples

  • She paints detailed miniatures.
  • A miniature village filled the display.
  • The box held a miniature portrait.

Forms

miniature · miniatures

Similar words

model
Model need not be small or reduced in scale.
tiny
Tiny describes size without implying a reproduction.