tee-nincy
Extremely tiny; smaller than teeny.
Also called teenincy, teensy, tee-ninecy.
Updated September 24, 2026
tee-nincy pronunciation
/tee-NINE-see/
Meaning
Tee-nincy is how rural Southern folks say something is little-bitty without stopping at plain tiny. Babies, puppies, a scrap of meat, a house way down the hollow. It usually sounds fond. Sometimes it is a joking nickname for a big person who is anything but small.
How folks use it
- “Look at them tee-nincy fingers on that baby.”
- “She only wanted a tee-nincy piece of pie.”
Origin and etymology
A Southern and Midland twist on teensy, itself a playful form of teeny or tiny. The OED cites tee-nincy from the 1880s (Southern Bivouac) and marks it for southern and midland U.S. speech. Spellings and sound vary: tee-nincy, teenincy, tee-ninecy.
Frequently asked questions
Is tee-nincy the same as teensy?
Close. Tee-nincy is the stretched Southern form that sounds a little more country and a little more tiny.