All 3 Uses of
petty
in
The Scarlet Letter
- The founders of the greater part of the families which now compose the aristocracy of Salem might here be traced, from the petty and obscure beginnings of their traffic, at periods generally much posterior to the Revolution, upward to what their children look upon as long-established rank, Prior to the Revolution there is a dearth of records; the earlier documents and archives of the Custom-House having, probably, been carried off to Halifax, when all the king's officials accompanied…
Chpt Intr.petty = unimportant
- These supplied material for petty activity to a mind that would otherwise have been eaten up with rust.
Chpt Intr.petty = insignificant (unimportant)
- ...to seek, resolutely, the true and indestructible value that lay hidden in the petty and wearisome incidents, and ordinary characters with which I was now conversant.
Chpt Intr. *petty = unimportant
Definition:
-
(petty as in: a petty crime) of less importance -- at times implying insignificance