Meanie

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmiːni/

Definitions

1. A person who habitually exhibits a rude or unkind attitude, causing discomfort to those around them
2. Someone who often behaves unkindly or harshly toward others
3. An individual who regularly acts in a way that is unfriendly or mean-spirited

Etymology: "Meanie" is built from the adjective "mean" plus the diminutive suffix "-ie." "Mean" in its older sense meant low in rank, humble, or ordinary, and only later came to describe someone unkindly stingy or spiteful. The "-ie" ending, which English has attached to many words to make them smaller, affectionate, or childish, gives the noun its tone of a petty, slightly juvenile unpleasantness. The suffix itself is very old. Its ancestry runs back through Old English "-iġ" and the Proto-Germanic "-j-" and "-ij-" sounds, passing through Middle English "-y" before settling into the "-ie" spelling that now appears in words like "doggie" and "birdie." So "meanie" joins a long family of English diminutives, and the sense of a small, nasty person fits the pattern well: a diminutive used to shrink someone's nastiness into something you can almost dismiss.

Synonyms: bully, cruel person, tyrant

Antonyms: nice person, kind person