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Little

//ˈlɪ.tl̩// adj, adv, det, name, noun, pron, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Small in size.
"This is a little table."
2
Small in size.; Small and underdeveloped, particularly (of a male) in the genitals.
""You are a little, little man," she proclaimed, staring obviously below my waist as she pronounced the second "little." It was almost disappointing. I'd heard that one before, but it still left a new scar each time."
3
Insignificant, trivial.
"It’s of little importance."
4
Insignificant, trivial.; Used to belittle a person. offensive
"Listen up, you little shit."
5
Very young, of childhood age.
"Did he tell you any embarrassing stories about when she was little?"

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6
Younger.
"This is my little sister."
7
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. capitalized, often
"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."
8
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.; To imply that the inhabitants of the place have an insular attitude and are hostile to those they perceive as foreign. capitalized, derogatory, often
"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"
9
Having few members.
"little herd"
10
Operating on a small scale. capitalized, often
"Little Steel"
11
Short in duration; brief.
"I feel better after my little sleep."
12
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."

Adjective

1
small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context) wordnet
2
(informal) small and of little importance wordnet
3
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent wordnet
4
(of a voice) faint wordnet
5
lowercase wordnet

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6
(quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with ‘a’) at least some wordnet
7
(of children and animals) young, immature wordnet
8
low in stature; not tall; describing something or someone with a stature less than normal wordnet

Adverb

1
Not much.
"This is a little-known fact: the new model is little faster than the old one."
2
Not at all.
"Little did he know she never did like him, did he? - Certainly, he little knew what awaited him."

Adverb

1
not much wordnet

Determiner

1
Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of).
"There is (very) little water left."

Proper Noun

1
A characteristical surname. countable, uncountable
2
An unincorporated community in Breathitt County, Kentucky, United States, named after the local Little family. countable, uncountable
3
An unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States. countable, uncountable

Noun

1
A small amount. singular, uncountable
"I hope the little we've done will be useful."
2
a small amount or duration wordnet
3
A child, particularly an infant. countable, informal
4
An adult in a child-like role, or in the more junior of two paired roles.; A newly initiated member of a sorority or fraternity, who is mentored by a big. countable
"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."
5
An adult in a child-like role, or in the more junior of two paired roles.; The participant in ageplay who acts out the younger role. countable

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6
An adult in a child-like role, or in the more junior of two paired roles.; One who has mentally age regressed to a childlike state. countable
"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."
7
Ellipsis of little go (“type of examination”). abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"I go up for my Little tomorrow."

Pronoun

1
Not much; not a large amount.
"Little is known about his early life."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English litel, from Old English lyttel, 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, Saterland Frisian litje, West Frisian lyts, Low German lütt, lüttje. Related also to Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend low”); and perhaps to Old English lytiġ (“deceitful”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍄𐍃 (liuts, “deceitful”); compare also Icelandic lítill (“little”), Faroese lítil, Swedish liten, Danish liden, lille, Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils), which appear to have a different root vowel. More at lout.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

Etymology 5

Etymology 6

English surname, from the adjective little. 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. Compare Littleman, Shorty.

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