The origin of the word little

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English litel, from Old English lȳtel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil, from Proto-Germanic *lūtilaz (“tending to stoop, crouched, little”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, bent, small”), equivalent to lout + -le. Cognate with Dutch luttel, regional German lütt and lützel, West Frisian lyts, Low German lütt, Old High German luzzil, Middle High German lützel, Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend low”); 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.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪtl̩/, [ˈlɪtʰɫ̩]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪt(ə)l/, [ˈlɪɾɫ̩], [ˈɫɪɾɫ̩]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): [ˈlɪɾɫ̩]
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈlɘtl̩/
• Rhymes: -ɪtəl
• Hyphenation: lit‧tle
• Homophone: Littell

Adjective[edit]

little (comparative less or lesser or littler, superlative least or littlest)

1. Small in size.

   This is a little table.

2. Insignificant, trivial.

   • 2013 June 21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30:

     Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an «explosion.»

   It’s of little importance.

   1. (offensive) Used to belittle a person.

      Listen up, you little shit.

3. Very young.

   Did he tell you any embarrassing stories about when she was little?

   That’s the biggest little boy I’ve ever seen.

4. (of a sibling) Younger.

   This is my little sister.

5. (often capitalized) Used with the name of a place, especially of a country or its capital, 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, edition, published 2005, →ISBN, 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.

   • 2020, Richa Bhosale, «Croatian Hall in need of repairs to remain open,» Timmins Daily Press:

     «The theatre was bought by the Croatian immigrants as so many immigrants came here in the ’30s and mostly for mining jobs, but in Schumacher itself it was called little Zagreb, and Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia. There were so many of them that they wanted to have their own little community, so they bought the theatre and they renovated it at that time, remodelled it and made it into a Croatian Hall,» she explained.

   1. (derogatory) To imply that the inhabitants of the place have an insular attitude and are hostile to those they perceive as foreign.
      • 2012, Comedian Steve Coogan on Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre, «He is the embodiment of Fleet Street bullying, using his newspaper to peddle his Little-England, curtain-twitching Alan Partridgesque view of the world, which manages to combine sanctimonious, pompous moralising and prurient, voyeuristic, judgmental obsession».
6. Having few members.

   little herd

7. (of an industry or other field, or institution(s) therein, often capitalized) Operating on a small scale.

   Little Steel (smaller steel companies, as contrasted with Big Steel)

   Little Science (science performed by individuals or small teams, as contrasted with Big Science)

8. Short in duration; brief.

   I feel better after my little sleep.

9. Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow; contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous.

   • The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise, / Because their natures are little.

   • 2001, Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis, The Unknown Callas: the Greek Years, pg 547.

     Showing unmistakably what a little person he really was, in June 1949 he wrote his newly married daughter with nauseating disregard for the truth

Usage notes[edit]

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.» The forms lesser and least are encountered in animal names such as lesser flamingo and least weasel.

Antonyms[edit]

• (small): large, big
• (young): big
• (younger): big

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adverb[edit]

little (comparative less or lesser, superlative least)

1. Not much.

   This is a little known fact.  She spoke little and listened less.

   We slept very little last night.

   • Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to «Chat of the Social World,» gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl’s intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy […] distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its savour.

2. Not at all.

   I was speaking ill of Fred; little did I know that he was right behind me, listening in.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶ […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window […], and a ‘bead’ could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.

   • 2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:

     But as United saw the game out, little did they know that, having looked likely to win their 13th Premier League title, it was City who turned the table to snatch glory from their arch-rivals’ grasp.

Antonyms[edit]

• much

Translations[edit]

Determiner[edit]

little (comparative less, superlative least)

1. Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of).

   There is (very) little water left.

   We had very little to do.

Usage notes[edit]

• Little is used with uncountable nouns, few with plural countable nouns.
• Little can be used with or without an article. With the indefinite article, the emphasis is that there is indeed some, albeit not much:

We have a little money, so we’ll probably get by.

With no article or the definite article (or what), the emphasis is on the scarcity:

We have little money, and little hope of getting more.

The little (or What little) money we have is all going to pay for food and medication, so we can’t save any.

Antonyms[edit]

• (not much): much

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

• a little

Pronoun[edit]

little

1. Not much; not a large amount.

   Little is known about his early life.

Noun[edit]

little (countable and uncountable, plural littles)

1. (chiefly uncountable or in the singular) A small amount.

   Can I try a little of that sauce?

   Little did he do to make me comfortable.

   If you want some cake, there’s a little in the refrigerator

   Many littles make a mickle. (Scottish proverb)

2. (countable, informal) A child; particularly an infant.
3. (countable, university slang) A newly initiated member of a sorority, who is mentored by a big.

   • 2018, Kelly Ann Gonzales, Through an Opaque Window:

     He was there the night of Cristoph’s party. All the littles were assigned to their bigs. Ian and Christoph had rushed the same fraternity. When they became upperclassmen, they both ended up on the board.

   • 2019 April 1, Audrey Steinkamp, “Sororities pair new members with «bigs»”, in Yale Daily News‎^[2]:

     She added that the relationship between bigs and littles is «what each pair makes of it,» and that a lot of the pairs often get dinner together and become close friends.

   • 2022 September 27, Shreya Varrier, “Gamma Rho Lambda provides LGBTQIA+ community in greek life”, in Iowa State Daily‎^[3]:

     Some traditions of the chapter include lineages with bigs and littles, receiving of paddles from a big, and a national stroll, Wolsch-Gallia said.

4. (countable, BDSM) The participant in ageplay who acts out the younger role.
5. (countable) One who has mentally age regressed to a childlike state.

   • 2019 August 30, Kimberly Holland, Healthline‎^[4]:

     People with [dissociative identity] disorder frequently have a younger personality among their distinctive personalities. However, it’s believed that the «little» may not be a separate personality. Instead, it may be a regressed version of the original personality.

   Antonym: big

Derived terms[edit]

• little space

[edit]

• a little
• li’l, li’l’, lil
• little by little
• little old
• belittle (cognate verb)

Anagrams[edit]

• tillet

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Possibly the fact that I was physically quite feeble, a relatively short little fellow, attracted me to that idea of a very authoritative and aggressive version of Conservative politics.

John Bercow

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LITTLE

Old English lӯtel; related to lӯr few, Old High German luzzil.

PRONUNCIATION OF LITTLE

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LITTLE

Little can act as an adjective, an adverb and a determiner.

WHAT DOES LITTLE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of little in the English dictionary

The first definition of little in the dictionary is a small quantity, extent, or duration of. Other definition of little is not much. Little is also of small or less than average size.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH LITTLE

SYNONYMS OF «LITTLE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «little» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF LITTLE

Find out the translation of little to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «LITTLE»

The term «little» is very widely used and occupies the 664 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of little

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «LITTLE» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «LITTLE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word little.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LITTLE»

Discover the use of little in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to little and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LITTLE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term little is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Little [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/little>. Apr 2023 ».

• Defenition of the word little

  • Small quantity.
  • of short duration; «a brief stay in the country»; «in a little while»
  • (informal terms) small and of little importance; «a fiddling sum of money»; «a footling gesture»; «our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war»; «a little (or small) matter»; «a dispute over niggling details»; «limited to petty enterprises»; «piffling efforts»; «giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction»
  • of little importance or influence or power; of minor status; «a minor, insignificant bureaucrat»; «the little man»; «peanut politicians»; «a crowd of small writers had vainly attempted to rival Addison»- Macaulay
  • (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»; «gave it little thought»; «little hope remained»; «little time is left»; «we still have little money»; «a little hope remained»; «a little time isleft»
  • a small amount or duration; «he accepted the little they gave him»
  • not much; «he talked little about his family»
  • lowercase; «little a»; «small a»; «e.e.cummings’s poetry is written all in minuscule letters»
  • contemptibly narrow in outlook; «a little mind consumed with trivia»; «petty little comments»; «disgusted with the pettiness of small minds»
  • (of a voice) faint; «a little voice»; «a still small voice»
  • very young; «a little child»; «small children»
  • younger and (at least formerly) smaller than another though relative size is not the issue; «little brother»
  • used of persons or behavior; characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity; «a small miserly man»
  • limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent; «a little dining room»; «a small house»; «read the small print»; «a little (or small) group»
  • small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context); «a nice little job»; «bless your little heart»; «my dear little mother»; «a sweet little deal»; «I»m tired of your petty little schemes»; «filthy little tricks
  • (informal terms) small and of little importance; «a fiddling sum of money»; «a footling gesture»; «our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war»; «a little (or small) matter»; «Mickey Mouse regulations»; «a dispute over nig
  • limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent; «a little dining room»; «a little house»; «a small car»; «a little (or small) group»; «a small voice»
  • of short duration or distance; «a brief stay in the country»; «in a little while»; «it»s a little way away»
  • lowercase; «little a»; «small a»; «e.e.cummings»s poetry is written all in minuscule letters»
  • not fully grown; «what a big little boy you are»; «small children»
  • a small amount or duration
  • small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context)
  • (informal) small and of little importance
  • limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
  • (of a voice) faint
  • lowercase
  • (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a’) at least some
  • (of children and animals) young, immature
  • low in stature; not tall
  • not much

Synonyms for the word little

• • a small amount
  • barely
  • brief
  • diminutive
  • fiddling
  • footling
  • hardly
  • inadequately
  • insignificant
  • insufficiently
  • lilliputian
  • mean
  • mingy
  • miniature
  • minor
  • minuscule
  • minute
  • miserly
  • modest
  • niggling
  • not a lot
  • not enough
  • not much
  • not sufficiently
  • not very
  • paltry
  • peanut
  • petite
  • petty
  • picayune
  • piddling
  • piffling
  • slight
  • small
  • small-minded
  • tight
  • tiny
  • trifling
  • trivial
  • unimportant
  • younger

Similar words in the little

• • bantam
  • bittie
  • bitty
  • diminutive
  • dinky
  • dwarf
  • dwarfish
  • elfin
  • elflike
  • emotional
  • fine
  • flyspeck
  • gnomish
  • half-size
  • immature
  • infinitesimal
  • itsy-bitsy
  • itty-bitty
  • least
  • less
  • lesser
  • lilliputian
  • little
  • little’s
  • littleness
  • littleness’s
  • littler
  • littlest
  • lowercase
  • micro
  • microscopic
  • midget
  • miniature
  • miniscule
  • minor
  • minuscule
  • minute
  • narrow
  • narrow-minded
  • petite
  • pocket-size
  • pocket-sized
  • pocketable
  • puny
  • runty
  • short
  • shrimpy
  • slender
  • slight
  • slim
  • small
  • small-scale
  • smaller
  • smallest
  • smallish
  • soft
  • stingy
  • teensy
  • teensy-weensy
  • teentsy
  • teeny
  • teeny-weeny
  • tiny
  • undersize
  • undersized
  • ungenerous
  • unimportant
  • wee
  • weensy
  • weeny
  • young

Hypernyms for the word little

• • small indefinite amount
  • small indefinite quantity

Antonyms for the word little

• • big
  • elder
  • grown-up
  • large
  • much
  • numerous
  • older

Idioms for the word little

• • little finger
  • little toe
  • little cap
  • little man

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