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little

/ˈlɪ.tl̩/ noun

In Latin: parvus, paulus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about little at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A small amount or duration.
    he accepted the little they gave him

adjective

  1. Limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent.
    a little dining room
  2. (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some.
    little rain fell in May
  3. (of children and animals) young, immature.
    what a big little boy you are

adverb

  1. Not much.
    he talked little about his family

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)