parvo-, parvi- +

(Latin: [parvus] small, little; minute, minuscule)

Little things contribute to perfection, and perfection is not a little thing.
—John Rayoa
multum in parvo
"Much in little": a useful phrase for praising a message or a reference book that conveys a lot of information in few words.

Applied to articles of small bulk but of great comprehensiveness.

parvalbumin
A small calcium-binding protein in vertebrate skeletal muscle.
parvalbumins
Low molecular weight, calcium binding muscle proteins. Their physiological function is possibly related to the contractile process.
parvanimity (par" vuh NI mi ti) (s) (noun), parvanimities (pl)
Smallness of mind or a small-minded person who is mean, selfish, or rude: Edgar showed a lot of parvanimity when he wouldn't loan his sister a pen when she needed it to write a note while she was talking on the phone.
parvenu (s) (noun), parvenus (pl)
1. Someone who has recently become wealthy or risen to a higher position in society, but who is still considered as an inferior by other rich and powerful people: Morgan became a parvenu when he recently became affluent and did not get the prestige, dignity, and manner associated with it because, when his aunt died and willed her property and money to him, he was still working as a carpenter's assistant.
2. Etymology: from Latin pervenio, "to arrive, to reach” and then from French, parvenir, "to reach, to arrive, to manage to achieve something."
A person who has become rich above his or her former status.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

parvicellular
Composed of small cells.
parvifolious
Having small leaves.
parvilocular cyst
A tumor composed of multiple small cysts.
parvipotent (adjective), more parvipotent , most parvipotent
Concerning the state of having little or limited power or authority: Students at school have a parvipotent status because they are not allowed to do what they want to, but to do what the teacher decides for them to do.
parvipsoas, parvipsoatic
Small psoas (lumbar) muscle.
parvirostrate
Having a slender beak.
parviscient (s) (noun), parviscients (pl)
A condition of conveying or knowing little; having very limited knowledge or being ignorant.
parvitude, parvity
Smallness, very little.
Parvis e glandibus quercus.
Great things have small beginnings.
parvity
Smallness. Now only in parvity of matter (after post-classical Latin parvitas materiae); triviality, especially regarding a sin or crime.
parvocellular
Consisting of, designating, or relating to neurons with small cell bodies; especially, those of the visual pathway between the retina and the striate cortex of the brain.