minion

1. The lowest limit.

   We need a minimum of three staff members on duty at all time.

2. The smallest amount.

   He always tries to get away with doing the minimum.

3. A period of minimum brightness or energy intensity (of a star).

   The Maunder minimum of the Sun reportedly corresponded to a period of great cold on Earth.

4. A lower bound of a set which is also an element of that set.
5. The smallest member of a batch or sample or the lower bound of a probability distribution.

1. A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.

   The archvillain deployed his minions to simultaneously rob every bank in the city.

2. A sycophantic follower.
3. A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.
4. An ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.
5. The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.

adjective

Favoured, beloved; "pet".