little
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also a little
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Middle English litel, from Old English lȳtel, from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz (West Germanic *lutilaz), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, bent, small”). Cognate with Dutch luttel, German lütt and lützel, West Frisian lyts, Low German lütt, Old High German luzzil, Middle High German lützel, Old English lūtan; and perhaps to Old English lytig (“deceitful, lot deceit”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍄𐍃 (liuts, “deceitful”), 𐌻𐌿𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lutjan, “to deceive”); compare also Icelandic lítill (“little”), Swedish liten, Danish liden, lille, Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils), which appear to have a different root vowel. More at lout.
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈlɪtl̩/, SAMPA: /"lItl=/
- (US) also IPA: /ˈlɪdl̩/
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Audio (US) (file) -
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪtəl
- Hyphenation: lit‧tle
[edit] Adjective
little (comparative less, lesser or littler, superlative least or littlest)
- Small in size.
- This is a little table.
- Insignificant, trivial.
- It's of little importance.
- Very young.
- Did he tell you any embarrassing stories about when she was little?
- That's the biggest little boy I've ever seen.
- (of a sibling) Younger.
- This is my little sister.
- Used with the name of place, especially of a country, to denote a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place.
- 1871 October 18, The One-eyed Philosopher [pseudonym], "Street Corners", in Judy: or the London serio-comic journal, volume 9, page 255 [1]:
- If you want to find Little France, take any turning on the north side of Leicester square, and wander in a zigzag fashion Oxford Streetwards. The Little is rather smokier and more squalid than the Great France upon the other side of the Manche.
- 2004, Barry Miles, Zappa: A Biography, 2005 edition, ISBN 080214215X, page 5:
- In the forties, hurdy-gurdy men could still be heard in all those East Coast cities with strong Italian neighbourhoods: New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston. A visit to Baltimore's Little Italy at that time was like a trip to Italy itself.
- 1871 October 18, The One-eyed Philosopher [pseudonym], "Street Corners", in Judy: or the London serio-comic journal, volume 9, page 255 [1]:
[edit] Usage notes
Some authorities regard both littler and littlest as non-standard. The OED says of the word little: "the adjective has no recognized mode of comparison. The difficulty is commonly evaded by resort to a synonym (as smaller, smallest); some writers have ventured to employ the unrecognized forms littler, littlest, which are otherwise confined to dialect or imitations of childish or illiterate speech."
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Translations
small
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very young
(of a sibling) younger
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
[edit] Adverb
little (comparative less or lesser, superlative least)
- Not much.
- This is a little known fact.
- She spoke little and listened less.
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Translations
not much
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[edit] Determiner
little (comparative less, superlative least)
- Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of).
- There is little water left.
- We had very little to do.
[edit] Usage notes
- Little is used with uncountable nouns, few with plural countable nouns.
[edit] Antonyms
- (not much): much
[edit] Translations
small amount
