little
/ˈlɪ.tl̩/ adjective, adverb, determiner, pronoun, noun, proper noun
Forms littler lesser littlest least less littles lil li'l li'l' lit'l leetle lickle liddle litle lytel littel
- adjective Small, not large, limited, particularly:
- adjective Small, limited in size. “This is a little table.”
- adjective Short, limited in extent. “It’s only a little ways now.”
- adjective Brief, limited in duration. “I always feel better after a little sleep.”
- adjective Young, limited in growth. “Where's the little boys' room?”
- adjective (especially of siblings) Younger, regardless of size or height. “You may be an Olympic weightlifter but you're still my little sister.”
- adjective Undeveloped or underdeveloped, limited in development, particularly (offensive, of a male) in the genitals.
- adjective Small, limited in number, having few members. “That's a mighty little herd you've got there.”
- adverb Not much. “This is a little-known fact: the new model is little faster than the old one.”
- adverb Not at all. “Little did he know that the burglar was creeping upstairs at that very moment.”
- determiner Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of). “There is (very) little water left.”
- pronoun Not much; not a large amount. “Little is known about his early life.”
- noun (chiefly uncountable or in the singular) A small amount. “I hope the little we've done will be useful.”
- noun (countable, informal) A child, particularly an infant.
- noun (countable, university slang) A newly initiated member of a sorority or fraternity, who is mentored by a big.
- noun (countable, ageplay) The participant who acts out the younger role.
- noun (countable, age regression) One who has mentally age regressed to a childlike state.
- proper noun A characteristical surname.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Breathitt County, Kentucky, United States, named after the local Little family.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States.
Synonyms
compact fun size fun-sized ickle insignificant lit'l low modest mini petty pint-sized pocket-size slim slight small small-scale undersized wee wurly fiddling footling lilliputian niggling piddling piffling picayune trivial short minuscule
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English litel, litell, luitel, lutel, lutil, luytel, from Old English lȳtel, lyttel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil (“little”), from *lūtan (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, crouch, duck”), equivalent to lout + -le.
Cognate with Yola lethel, litha, lithel, lythea (“little”), North Frisian letj (“little, small”), Saterland Frisian litje (“little, small”), West Frisian lyts (“little, small”), Dutch luttel (“few, little, mere”), German lütt, lützel (“little, small”), Low German lütt, lüttje (“little, small”), Danish liden, lille (“little, small”), Elfdalian litn (“small”), Faroese lítil (“little, small”), Icelandic lítill (“little, small”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish liten (“little, small”), Crimean Gothic lista (“insufficient, very little”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils, “little, small”); also Albanian lus, lut (“to beg, plead, request”), Lithuanian liūdnas (“sad, sorrowful”), Bulgarian and Macedonian луд (lud, “crazy, insane, mad”), Serbo-Croatian лу̑д, lȗd (“crazy”). Related also to Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend low”); and perhaps to Old English lytiġ (“deceitful”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍄𐍃 (liuts, “deceitful”). More at lout.
English surname, from the adjective little (“small, (ironic) big, not much, younger”). Compare Short, Shorty.
This has also been translated and adapted from similar-meaning names in other languages, such as:
* Irish Ó Beagáin (“descendant of Beagán”), from a diminutive of beag (“small”), see also Began.
* French Petit and Polish Mały
* Native American names such as Navajo hastiin yázhí (“little man”), see Yazzie.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; --opposed to big or large; as, a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little hill; a little distance; a little child.
- adjective Short in duration; brief; as, a little sleep.
- noun That which is little; a small quantity, amount, space, or the like.
- noun A small degree or scale; miniature. " His picture in little." Shak.
Etymology [OE. litel, lutel, AS. l, litel, l; akin to OS. littil, D. luttel, LG. lütt, OHG. luzzil, MHG. lützel; and perh. to AS. lytig deceitful, lot deceit, Goth. liuts deceitful, lut to deceive; cf. also Icel. litill little, Sw. liten, Dan. liden, lille, Goth. leitils, which appear to have a different root vowel.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “little”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details