minion

1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnjo (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, *mindijō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪnjən/
• Homophone: minyan
• Rhymes: -ɪnjən

minion (countable and uncountable, plural minions)

1. A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
   • 2013 May-June, Kevin Heng, “Why Does Nature Form Exoplanets Easily?”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 184:

     In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter.

   The archvillain deployed his minions to simultaneously rob every bank in the city.

2. A sycophantic follower.
3. (obsolete) A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.
   • Sylvester

     God's disciple and his dearest minion

   • William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, IV-III

     Is this the Athenian minion whom the world / Voiced so regardfully?

4. (obsolete) An ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.
   • 1647, Francis Beaumont, Philip Massinger, The Double Marriage (play), published 1717, page 19:

     Gun. My Cannons rung like Bells. Here's to my Mistress, The dainty sweet brass Minion: split their Fore-mast, She never fail'd.

5. (uncountable, typography, printing) The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.
6. Obsolete form of minimum.
   • Robert Burton

     Of philosophers and scholars priscae sapientiae dictatores, I have already spoken in general terms, those superintendents of wit and learning, men above men, those refined men, minions of the muses,

• (loyal servant): disciple, follower, henchman, myrmidon, stooge, toady

• (type size): minionette
• miniondom
• minionhood
• minioning
• minionish
• minionlike
• minionly
• minionship

minion (comparative more minion, superlative most minion)

1. (obsolete) Favoured, beloved; "pet".
   • 1603, John Florio, transl.; Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes, […], printed at London: By Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:

     , vol.1, p.148:

     These favours, with the commodities that follow minion Courtiers, corrupt […] his libertie, and dazle his judgement.

Borrowed from English million.

minion

1. million