Miniature
The expression miniature derives from Latin "miniare" (to paint with cinnabar), which originally designated painting with "minium" (red lead: cinnabar ore). Cinnabar was used in the Middle Ages to draw edges or emphasise initials. Later the word underwent a semantic shift to mean the pictures painted in manuscript illumination. Moreover, the word miniature is often derived from the Latin "minor" [= smaller, lesser]. In manuscript illumination, the illustration to a text is called a miniature. Another meaning is a painting in a small format, primarily in the genre of portraiture (portrait miniature). However, all that this type of miniature painting has in common with manuscript illumination is the small scale.but the small. In the figurative sense the term miniature is also used today for a faithful small-scale representation of an object in a model-like form.
