Petty

Petty
This interesting name is of early medieval English and Scottish origin, and derives from the medieval Anglo-Norman French term "petit", small, a word of obscure and isolated origin, thought to be a "nursery word". It was used as a nickname for a small person, as in the recording of Walter le Petiit, in the Wiltshire Assize Rolls of 1249, and also to distinguish the younger of two bearers of the same given name. The term was also used as an element in medieval surnames developed from personal and occupational - or nick - names, as in Walter Petitclark (1304, Gloucestershire); John Petijohan (1327, Sussex); and John le Petit Smyth (1351, Essex). The surname from "petit" is first recorded in England in the late 12th Century, as below, and can be found in forms ranging from Petty and Pettie to Pe(t)it, Petyt, Pettitt and Pittet. In Scotland, one Fergus de Pety in the parish of Fyvy was excommunicated in 1382, and Master Duncan Petit or Petyt was archdeacon of Glasgow in 1395. The marriage of John Petty and Margaret Rogers was recorded at St. Dunstan's in the East, London, on June 22nd 1568. A Coat of Arms granted to the Pettys of Warwickshire depicts, on a shield divided quarterly gold and blue, on a green bend three gold martlets. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Petie, which was dated 1198, in the "Feet of Fines of Nottinghamshire", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "Richard The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Petty — can refer to one of the following People* Adam Petty (1980–2000), American race car driver and son of Kyle Petty * Bruce Petty (born 1929), Australian political satirist and cartoonist * Dini Petty (born 1945), Canadian television and radio host… …   Wikipedia

  • Petty — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Adam Petty (1980–2000), US amerikanischer Rennfahrer Emily Petty Fitzmaurice, 8. Lady Nairne (1819–1895), britische Peeress George Petty (1894–1975), US amerikanischer Illustrator Henry Petty Fitzmaurice,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • PETTY (W.) — PETTY sir WILLIAM (1623 1687) Tour à tour marin, chirurgien, membre du Parlement, homme public et homme d’affaires, sir William Petty est surtout connu pour ses écrits économiques. L’ensemble de son œuvre permet de le situer comme l’un des plus… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Petty — Pet ty, a. [Compar. {Pettier}; superl. {Pettiest}.] [OE. petit, F. petit; probably of Celtic origin, and akin to E. piece. Cf. {Petit}.] Little; trifling; inconsiderable; also, inferior; subordinate; as, a petty fault; a petty prince. Denham.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • petty — petty, puny, trivial, trifling, paltry, measly, picayunish, picayune mean little and insignificant, often contemptibly so. Something is petty which by comparison with other things the same in kind but different in size, importance, gravity, or… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • petty — pet·ty / pe tē/ adj: relatively minor in degree a petty offense punishable by not more than six months in prison compare grand Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • petty — late 14c., small, from O.Fr. petit small (see PETIT (Cf. petit)). In English, not originally disparaging (Cf. petty cash, 1834; petty officer, 1570s). Meaning of small importance is recorded from 1520s; that of small minded is from 1580s. An old… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Petty —   [ petɪ], Sir (seit 1662) William, britischer Volkswirtschaftler und Statistiker, * Romsey 26. 5. 1623, ✝ London 16. 12. 1687; ursprünglich Physiker und Arzt, später u. a. Sekretär O. Cromwells und Mitbegründer der Royal Society. Petty gilt als… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Petty — Petty, Sir William, engl. Volkswirt, geb. 26. Mai 1623 in Rompy bei London, seit 1652 Generalarzt der Armee von Irland, Mitbegründer der Royal Society, starb 16. Dez. 1687 in London; ein Vorgänger von Adam Smith, schrieb: »Treatise of taxes and… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Petty —    PETTY, Inverness and Nairn.    See Pettie …   A Topographical dictionary of Scotland

  • petty — [adj] trivial, insignificant base, casual, cheap, contemptible, frivolous, inconsequent, inconsiderable, inessential, inferior, irrelevant, junior, lesser, light, little, lower, measly, minor, narrow minded, negligible, nickel and dime*,… …   New thesaurus

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