PETTY

Small, minor, of less or inconsiderable importance. The English form of “petit,” and sometimes used instead of that word in such compounds as “petty jury,” “petty larceny,” and “petty treason.” See Petit. Petty bag office. In English law. An office in the court of chancery, for suits against attorneys and officers of the court, and for process and proceedings by extent on statutes, recognizances, ad quod damnum, and the like. Termes de la Ley. Petty officers. Inferior officers in the naval service, of various ranks and kinds, corresponding to the non commissioned officers in the army. See U. S. v. Fuller, 160 U. S. 593, 16 Sup. Ct. 386, 40 L. Ed. 549. As to petty “Average,” “Constable,” and “Sessions,” see those titles.