Petit /(pĕt"y̆; F. pe*tē̇")/

Pet·it

Petit

a.
  1. Small; little; insignificant; mean; -- Same as Petty. [Obs., except in legal language.]
    By what small, petit hints does the mind catch hold of and recover a vanishing notion.

Phrases & Compounds
Petit constable
an inferior civil officer, subordinate to the high constable.
Petit jury
a jury of twelve men, impaneled to try causes at the bar of a court; -- so called in distinction from the grand jury.
Petit larceny
the stealing of goods of, or under, a certain specified small value; -- opposed to grand larceny. The distinction is abolished in England.
Petit maître
A fop; a coxcomb; a ladies' man.
Petit serjeanty
the tenure of lands of the crown, by the service of rendering annually some implement of war, as a bow, an arrow, a sword, a flag, etc.
Petit treason
formerly, in England, the crime of killing a person to whom the offender owed duty or subjection, as one's husband, master, mistress, etc. The crime is now not distinguished from murder.