The term petty comes from the Hispanic Arabic miskin , although its most distant etymological antecedents reach the Akkadian muškēnu . Akkadian was the Semitic language spoken in Babylonian society and, specifically, it was divided into three groups:
-The amelu, who were the aristocrats.
-The mushkenu, from which the word petty is derived. They were free men, but they had fewer rights than the previous ones.
-The wardu, who were the slaves.
The concept can be used in a derogatory sense to refer to someone who is stingy .
For example: “My uncle is a mean man, he is always looking for ways to satisfy his needs without spending money” , “It is frustrating to work for someone so mean that he does not pay what he deserves” , “Don't be mean and buy the child the toy” .
In addition to the words mentioned, we cannot ignore that there are others that can also be used as synonyms for petty. We are referring to some such as miserly, miserable, stingy, mean, miserly, ignoble, stingy or sordid.
On the contrary, among the terms that function as antonyms, splendid, generous and even liberal stand out.
Beyond the economic, those who do not have a noble heart and lack generosity are classified as mean: “There are mean people who do everything possible to not let you progress in the workplace,” “My father-in-law was always mean, he never helped us.” ” , “Pride makes people become petty” .
He or she who shows little ambition or who sets small goals is also classified as petty: “The coach presented a petty approach that did not bear fruit since his team lost 3 to 0,” “The company needs a commercial manager who "Dare to make big bets and not be stingy," "A stingy project will never allow you to progress."
Petty, on the other hand, is a lesion that appears on the skin as a result of a virus . Also called cadillos or warts , merquinas are caused by an infectious agent that affects the skin area.
The hands, face, feet and genitals are some of the parts of the body where pettiness can appear. To remove them, you can use laser or cryosurgery .
However, we cannot ignore that there are other treatments that are used to address these skin lesions. Specifically, among the most significant are silver nitrate, radiofrequency, salicylic acid, surgical removal and even electrodesiccation.
Furthermore, in literature we find different books that have the term we are addressing in their title. This would be the case of “Guerín, el Mezquino”, which is a work done by A. Da Barberino, or “Mundo mezquino”. The latter, which is subtitled “Philosophical Semiotic Art”, is written by Óscar Quezada Macchiavello and provides an exhaustive analysis of Quino's stories (1932). This is a cartoonist who has become famous throughout the world for creating the comic strip starring Mafalda and which he published between 1964 and 1973.