מָעַט (b. h.; cmp. מוּט) to be thin, minute.—Part. pass. מָעוּט, f. מְעוּטָה; pl. מְעוּטִים, מְעוּטִין; מְעוּטוֹת. Y. Pes. V, 32ᵃ bot.; Y. Snh. I, 18ᶜ bot. גסי רוח ומְעוּטֵי תודה big in spirit (haughty) and small in learning (of narrow capacity). Tosef. Ḥall. I, 7; a. e.—Tam. IV, 2 במעוטה at least (Talm. ed. 31ᵃ במעוטן, comment. במיעוטן on the smallest of the tables).
Pi. - מִעֵט, מִיעֵט 1) to diminish, reduce; to do little. Ab. IV, 10 הוי מְמַעֵט בעסק וכ׳ do less business, and busy thyself with the Law. M. Kat. 22ᵃ, v. עֵסֶק. Taan. I, 7 מְמַעֲטִין במשא וכ׳ we must reduce business transactions, building &c. Ib. IV, 6 משנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה with the beginning of the month of Ab we must reduce rejoicing. Ḥull. 60ᵇ לכי ומַעֲטִי את עצמך go and make thyself smaller (be reduced). Snh. 17ᵃ הואיל ומִיעַטְתֶּם עצמיכם because you made yourselves small (were modest); Num. R. s. 15. Tosef. Erub. IX (VI), 15 מִיעֲטָהּ באבנים וכ׳ if he reduced the size of the gap by means of stones &c. Y. ib. VII, beg. 24ᵇ ממעטין בכלים you may use utensils for reducing the opening. Bab. ib. 77ᵇ ממעט effects the reduction, i.e. puts the two adjoining places in the legal condition of dwellings connected by a gate; a. fr. —2) (interpret.) to limit, qualify, exclude from the rule. Shebu. 26ᵃ היה דורש את כל התורה בריבה ומיעט interpreted the entire Law on the principle of ‘It includes and it excludes’, i.e. on the principle that if, in the Biblical text, a specification is preceded and followed by general terms, both an extension (ריבוי) and a limitation (מיעוט) must be found; e. g. ib. (ref. to Lev. V, 4) או נפש … להרע … מי׳ וכ׳ ‘or if a soul swears’, this is a general expression, ‘for bad or for good’, this limits (the sphere of the law to things which are either an advantage or a disadvantage); ‘whatsoever it be &c.’, this is again a generalization; now what does it include? All kinds of words (vows); ומאי מ׳ מ׳ וכ׳ and what does it exclude? It excludes a religious act (the vow of doing a forbidden thing or not doing a commanded thing). Sifra Tsav, ch. XV, Par. 11 אם מִיעַטְתִּים מסמיכה מרובה לא אֲמַעֲטֵם בתנופה וכ׳ if I exclude them (the gentiles) from the privilege of laying hands on the sacrifice, which has a wider sphere of application, must I not exclude them from the privilege of waving &c.?; a. fr.—Part. pass. מְמוּעָט, v. מוּעָט.