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单词 little
释义

littleadj.pron.n.adv.

Brit. /ˈlɪtl/, U.S. /ˈlɪd(ə)l/
Forms: Old English letl- (inflected form, rare), Old English litl- (inflected form), Old English littl- (inflected form), Old English lytl- (inflected form), Old English lyttl- (inflected form), Old English lytulu (feminine, rare), Old English (Northumbrian) 1500s lyttil, Old English (Anglian)–1500s lytil, Old English (Northumbrian)–1500s lyttel, Old English (rare)–1500s lytyl, Old English–1600s litel, Old English–1600s lytel, Old English (Northumbrian)–1600s lytell, late Old English littere (dative feminine, transmission error), late Old English lythl- (inflected form), late Old English–1600s littel, late Old English–1700s litell, early Middle English lithl- (inflected form, in copy of Old English charter), early Middle English litol, Middle English leitel, Middle English litelle, Middle English littil, Middle English littull, Middle English littyll, Middle English litul, Middle English litull, Middle English litulle, Middle English lityl, Middle English luitel, Middle English lutel, Middle English lutele, Middle English lutelle, Middle English lutil, Middle English lutill, Middle English luttel, Middle English luttele, Middle English lutthle, Middle English luttle, Middle English lutyl, Middle English luytel, Middle English lytelle, Middle English lythyl, Middle English lytille, Middle English lytol, Middle English lyttylle, Middle English lytul, Middle English lytulle, Middle English 1600s litile, Middle English 1600s lutle, Middle English–1500s litille, Middle English–1500s lyttill, Middle English–1500s lyttyll, Middle English–1500s lytyle, Middle English–1500s lytyll, Middle English–1500s lytylle, Middle English–1600s litil, Middle English–1600s litill, Middle English–1600s littill, Middle English–1600s lityll, Middle English–1600s lytill, Middle English–1600s lytle, Middle English–1600s lyttell, Middle English–1700s litle, Middle English–1700s littell, Middle English– little, 1500s laytell, 1500s letill, 1500s letle, 1500s lettel, 1500s lettell, 1500s lickell, 1500s lityle, 1500s lytlle, 1500s lyttull, 1500s–1600s lyttle, 1600s lickle; English regional 1700s 1900s– laatle (Yorkshire), 1800s lautle (Yorkshire), 1800s– laahtle (Yorkshire), 1800s– lahtle (Yorkshire), 1800s– laitil (Yorkshire), 1800s– leetle (southern), 1800s– leytel (Cumberland), 1800s– lickle, 1800s– liddle, 1800s– litle (Yorkshire), 1800s– lytel (Cumberland), 1900s– laitle (Yorkshire), 1900s– litle (Yorkshire); Scottish pre-1700 laytille, pre-1700 layttil, pre-1700 layttill, pre-1700 leitell, pre-1700 letill, pre-1700 letle, pre-1700 lettell, pre-1700 litel, pre-1700 litele, pre-1700 litell, pre-1700 litil, pre-1700 litile, pre-1700 litill, pre-1700 littel, pre-1700 littell, pre-1700 littil, pre-1700 littill, pre-1700 littl, pre-1700 littll, pre-1700 lyitill, pre-1700 lytil, pre-1700 lytile, pre-1700 lytill, pre-1700 lytille, pre-1700 lytle, pre-1700 lyttil, pre-1700 lyttill, pre-1700 lytyle, pre-1700 lytyll, pre-1700 1700s litle, pre-1700 1700s– little, 1900s– luttle, 1900s– luttul; Irish English 1800s lethel (Wexford), 1800s litha (Wexford), 1800s lythea (Wexford); also U.S. regional 1800s– leetle, 1800s– lettle (southern); also Caribbean 1900s– lickle. See also leetle adj., pron., n., and adv., liddle adj., lil adj., lile adj. and adv.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Dutch luttil (Middle Dutch luttel ), Old Saxon luttil (Middle Low German luttel ), Old High German luzzil (Middle High German lützel , German regional lützel ) < a suffixed form (compare -le suffix 1 and perhaps also mickle adj.) of the Germanic base of lite adj.1 Compare < the same base with a different suffix Old Dutch luttik (Middle Dutch luttic, Dutch luttik), Old Saxon luttik (Middle Low German luttik), Old High German luzzīg little.Germanic cognates and parallels. The Old English word apparently originally showed a long stem vowel and single stem-final consonant, while the Germanic cognates apparently show a short stem vowel and geminate stem-final consonant. This variation of the stem form in Old English has not been satisfactorily explained. Some Germanic languages also show a parallel formation with the same suffix from a synonymous and phonetically similar base with stem vowel (long or short) ῑ , compare Middle Dutch littel , lītel , Old Icelandic lítill (Icelandic lítill ), Old Swedish litil , litle (Swedish lilla ; compare with different suffixation Old Swedish litin , liten (Swedish liten )), Old Danish lidel (Danish lille ; compare liden ), Gothic leitils ; the relationship (if any) of this base with that mentioned above and its ultimate origin are both uncertain. Form history. The Old English and Middle English forms can all be explained as reflexes of the base with long ū (with i-mutation caused by the suffix), showing subsequent shortening and unrounding of the stem vowel. However, it has been suggested that the Old English form lītel may partly reflect the (perhaps unrelated) base with long ī , and it is very likely that Middle English forms with long and short ῑ in the east midlands and the north were reinforced by reflexes of the latter base in early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic lítill ). Gradation. Although regularly-formed comparative and superlative forms of the adjective are occasionally attested (compare littler in e.g. quots. 1849 at sense A. 1c, 1951 at sense A. 2, and littlest in e.g. quots. 1829 at sense A. 7, 1865 at sense A. 6a), these are now typically restricted to regional varieties and to imitations of children's speech. For a very early use of such a form as adverb compare:1558 (a1456) J. Shirley in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 196 And for I haue but shorte space, i must ye lyttler ouer pase, besechynge you be not to wroth.The function of the comparative of the adjective is usually served instead by less adj. and lesser adj., and of the superlative by least adj. This pattern of suppletive gradation for the adjective (and its respective cognates or parallels) is apparently inherited from Germanic. Some uses of the positive form have no counterparts at less adj., lesser adj., and least adj., and in such cases a synonym is often used instead (e.g. smaller , smallest ). See further discussion at less adj., adv., pron., n., and prep., least adj., pron., n., and adv.; compare also more adj., pron., adv., n.3, and prep., most adj., pron., n., and adv. Adverbial use. In Old English, adverbial use is attested for the uninflected form lȳtel (perhaps reflecting adverbial use of the neuter accusative singular) and also inflected lȳtle (perhaps adverbial use of the instrumental). For adverbial use of the dative see litlum adv. Compare also Old Dutch luttil , Old High German luzzil , luzzilo , adverbs. Use in names. Attested early in place names, as Lytlanbyrig , Essex (early 11th cent.; now Littlebury), Liteltune , Worcestershire (1086; also Litletona (c1200 in a copy of a charter of 709); now Littleton), Litelport , Cambridgeshire (1086; now Littleport), etc. Frequently designating the smaller of two (or the smallest of several) places of the same name (compare note at sense A. 1a), as Litleburne , Kent (13th cent. in a copy of a charter of 696 or 711, denoting a division of the Bourne estate; now Littlebourne), Little Harewud , Lancashire (1246; 1327 as Parua Harewode ; now Little Harwood), Littel Dene , Gloucestershire (1328; 1220 as Parua Dene ; now Little Dean), Lyttleover , Derbyshire (1577; 1086 as Parva Ufre ; now Littleover), Littlehempstone , Devon (1608; 1176 as Parva Hæmestone , 1264 as Hemestone minor ; now Littlehempston), etc.; such formations (in which Little typically appears as a later addition to an existing name) are often paralleled by (frequently earlier) Latin forms with Parva (feminine of classical Latin parvus small: see parvi- comb. form) or, less commonly, Minor minor adj.
A. adj.
I. Of size, and extensions of this. N.E.D. (1903) notes: ‘Opposed to great. Often synonymous with small. Its customary antithetic association (in modern English) is with great or big, not with large; on the other hand, small is the customary antithesis of great or large, but not of big. One difference between the two synonyms is that little is capable of emotional implications, which small is not.’
1. Of limited physical size; not big, or relatively small, in comparison with other things, especially of the same kind.
a. Of material objects, geographical features, animals and plants (other than as a distinguishing epithet), parts of the body, portions of space, etc.Cf. also use in place names, distinguishing them from others nearby having identical names with Great, as Little Malvern, Worcestershire, Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire, Little Snoring, Norfolk, etc. On the history of such names see note in etymology section. Similarly in street names and names of geographical features, as e.g. Little Russell Street, London, the Little Ouse (river) in eastern England, the Little Orme (headland), Llandudno Bay, Conwy, Wales. Cf. also discussion of the place name Little Britain at Britain n.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [adjective]
shorta900
littleOE
lowa1398
untallc1535
dwarfish1542
shrimpish1549
pygmy1592
shrubby1603
dapper1606
punya1616
runtisha1642
truss1674
sesquipedalian1741
smally1764
petite1766
elfin1796
scram1825
squibbish1826
gnomic1845
dwarf-like1850
knee-high to a grasshopper1851
underhanded1856
nanoid1857
whipping-snapping1861
scrunty1868
midget1875
short-set1883
sawed-off1887
strunty1897
munchkin1930
sawn-off1936
short-arsed1951
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective]
smallOE
littleOE
litec1275
a little wightc1275
petitc1390
weea1525
pusill1599
slender1610
lile1633
scantling1652
piccaninny1707
pinkie1718
insignificant1748
baby1750
leetle1755
tiddy1781
bit1786
inconsiderable1796
itty1798
peerie1808
tittya1825
titty-tottya1825
ickle1846
tiddly1868
peewee1877
lil1881
shirttail1881
inextensive1890
puny1898
liddle1906
pint-sized1921
pint-size1925
peedie1929
tenas1935
itsy-bitsy1938
itty-bitty1940
titchy1950
scrappy1985
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iv. lix. 347 Se nowent rihte þæt lytle ærene scip, þe wiþhindan þam maran scipe gefæstnod wæs.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1106 Se steorra ætywde innon þet suðwest; he wæs litel geþuht and deorc, ac se leoma þe him fram stod wæs swiðe beorht.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) 1145 Ȝet of lutle banes þe floweð ut wið þe eoli floweð oðer eoli ut.
c1300 St. John Evangelist (Laud) 162 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 407 (MED) He may here in þe grounde ane luttle worm i-seo.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14939 A littel hill Man calles mont oliuete.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 34 To wythdraw hem to a lytyll wood, and so over a litill ryvir.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 373 He schewede to hym a lytulle rownd dyche.
1512 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 456 Item to the plummair for vi mawmeris to the litill bark callit the Gabriell.
1567 R. Sempill Ballat declaring Nobill & Gude Inclinatioun King 1/3 War..I ane cat and sho ane lyttill mous.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. ii. 1 By my troth Nerrissa, my little body is awearie of this great world. View more context for this quotation
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) i. i. 4 Even in the very little Insects, there appears the excellent work of the Divine Wisdom.
a1751 Visct. Bolingbroke Lett. Study Hist. (1752) II. 204 There is a prejudice in China in favor of little feet.
1764 in Rec. Moravians N. Carolina (1925) II. 569 At the top [it] has one or more bunches of pretty, white, little flowers.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. i. 20 You may bring him to the little back gate.
1866 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 2nd Ser. 2 i. 153 On the seaside little hillocks, 13 feet to 19½ feet high, may be observed at short distances.
1893 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour (rev. ed.) vi. 34 I was on my little handy, sprig-tailed bay.
1921 L. Strachey Queen Victoria ii. 24 She would..stamp her little foot, and set everyone at defiance.
1954 V. Randolph Pissing in Snow (1976) xix. 32 Soon as the shanty was built they planted a little garden.
2000 C. Tudge Variety of Life ii. xxiii. 560 The stoneworts: quaint little plants of which there are about 250 living species.
b. Of an animal or plant species or variety: distinguished by small size from related or similar forms.See also Compounds 1c.little bittern, gull, piked whale, tern, valerian, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > appearance of plant > defined by size or stature > [adjective] > of particular size or stature
littleeOE
lessOE
lesser?a1425
dwarf1548
stubby1572
least1597
pumil1776
tall1789
the world > life > biology > taxonomy > taxon > [adjective] > species or sub-species > small in comparison to other species
littleeOE
least1597
eOE Épinal Gloss. (1974) 13 Cocleae, lytlae sneglas.
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. lxi. 132 Gelodwyrt, brunewyrt & hare wyrt lytelu.., gecnua ða þreo wyrta, gemenge.
c1440 Liber de Diversis Med. 3 (MED) Take..sperworte, littill burnett, of celidoyne als mekill als of all þe oþer.
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 133 Moustayle or litle stone crop.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes Ep. Ded. sig. A5 Where is there svch a sluggard and drone, that considereth the labours, paines, and trauels of the Emmet, Little-bee, Field-mouse, Squirrell, and such other that will not learne for shame to..set his fingers to worke?
1684 R. Sibbald Scotl. Illustr. ii. i. 14 Little Throat-wort, or Canterbury-bells.
1801 W. Withering Withering's Systematic Arrangem. Brit. Plants (rev. ed.) II. 321 Polygnia. Myosurus... Little Mouse-tail.
1843 J. Gould Birds Austral. (1848) V. Pl. 62 The Little Green Pigeon is sparingly dispersed in all the brushes of New South Wales.
1861 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. V. 295 Little Bulbous Rush.
1906 D. G. Stead Fishes of Austral. 236 The Little Saw-Shark..is a small species, having a somewhat flattened body, and attaining a length of about 4 feet.
1953 Calif. Almanac 36/2 On certain moonlit nights in the spring great numbers of small fish, termed ‘grunion’ or ‘little smelt’ appear along the beaches.
1998 S. Orlean Orchid Thief 105 The most common orchid in Florida, the little lawn orchid, is a native of India.
2007 Stamp & Coin Mart Jan. 97/2 The first coin in the series..depicted the little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii).
c. Of a person: short in stature.See also little boy n. 1, little girl n. 2, little person n. at Compounds 1d.
ΚΠ
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 3 Þa ne mihte he for ðære menegu [geseon], forþam þe he wæs lytel on wæstmum [L. statura pusillus erat].
lOE St. Giles (Corpus Cambr. 303) (1980) 101 Æt þæs scræfes dure sæt an litel man and rædde on anre boc.
a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 133 (MED) Ne ches þu neuere to fere littele mon ne long ne red.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 362 (MED) Huet, þat hende litel dwerþ.
c1440 Prose Life Alexander (Thornton) (1913) 10 (MED) Þou..hase dispised me by-cause I ame littill.
1590 Protocol Bk. J. Inglis 18 July in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Litil, a. The hous..occupiit be lytill Andro Runsie.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 22 Nov. (1970) I. 299 The Queen, a very little plain old woman and nothing more in her presence..then any ordinary woman.
1702 tr. G. Boccaccio Il Decamerone II. lv. 38 Messer Forese da Rabatta, was a very little Man.
1795 Compend. Geogr. Dict. (ed. 2) at Camarana Its inhabitants are little and black.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xxii. 202 She was called tall and gawky by some..of her own sex, who prefer littler women.
1897 Michigan Alumnus Dec. 50 Nothing joyous came into her young life, and she was little and pale and puny.
1957 G. Ashe King Arthur's Avalon i. 15 Throughout a long stretch of years the inhabitants of Britain were dark little Iberians.
2003 C. Birch Turn again Home viii. 106 It wasn't a very big coffin. She was only little, Benny.
2. spec. Of a child or animal: not close to being fully grown, (very) young; (also) younger than a particular relative.See also little boy n., little brother n., little girl n., little sister n.
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the world > life > source or principle of life > age > youth > [adjective] > young (of beings)
littleeOE
youngOE
younglyOE
younglinga1250
little waxena1325
greena1398
imperfecta1398
primec1429
unold?1440
juvync1450
novelc1450
unaged1486
in youth's flowers?1507
unbearded1560
unweaned1581
whelpish1586
ungrown1593
under-age1594
unhatched1601
infantine1603
springalda1614
unbakeda1616
unlickeda1616
juvenile1625
lile1633
juvenal1638
bloomy1651
youngish1667
blooming1676
puerilea1680
youngerly1742
steerish1789
chota1814
white-shoe1960
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. ix. 70 His gingran dohtor.., seo wæs lytel cild.
OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 21 Mar. (2013) 70 Ða geseah se abbod ðæt sum lytel cniht sweart teah þone broðor be his hrægle of þære cirican ut.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3217 Þiss lif to ledenn he bigann Whann he wass ȝet full litell.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 5 (MED) Na forþon uppon þa muchele assa aȝc uppon þa lutthle fole.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3155 Hæfde þas wise quene..ænne lutelne sune.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2303 Þan was þer a litel lyoun of þe lederes bi-ȝete.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 73 The litel children hangyng by the hals For thy Iasoun, that was of loue so fals.
c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 54 He toke vppe the ladi, and the litulle knaue.
1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid xii. Prol. 183 In lyssouris and on leys litill lammis Full tait and trig socht bletand to thar dammis.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Marmouselle A little puppie, or pug to play with.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. iv. 47 Nan Page (my daughter) and my little sonne. View more context for this quotation
1701 N. Ellison Of Confirmation 23 How early do little Children devote themselves to the Devil's Service for want of their Parents Care?
1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) ix. 244 As he was little, they would certainly begin him at the ABC.
1779 T. Twining Let. 17 Oct. (1991) I. 176 My Sister and her little fellow traveller.
1800 S. T. Coleridge Let. 1 Nov. (1956) I. 646 My littlest One..is christened by the name of ‘Derwent’.
1828 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. III. xvi. 469 Her little kid ran after the soldier..twinkling its ears and rubbing them between its legs.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 172 Through life he continues to regard the little Bentincks with paternal kindness.
1873 M. Oliphant Innocent II. xv. 265 His little cousin, with her dreamy delight in his society.., was very amusing and pleasant to him.
1918 R. H. Lowie Myths & Trad. Crow Indians 103 Her little grandson was standing outside shooting at ashes with his arrows.
1951 J. Jones From Here to Eternity xxxviii. 575 Feeling vaguely ashamed like he used to feel when the littler kids at home messed their pants.
1986 B. McCullough Totally Organized xxxiii. 232 Look for ways the room could be arranged to make it easier for a little person to manage.
2006 C. Cassidy Scarlett xiii. 91 Dad is frying eggy bread like he used to do when I was little.
3. Small in amount or degree.
a. Of a quality, emotion, condition, action, or occurrence.Passing into sense A. 6a.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxviii. 515 Ac ic secge get þæt me ne þyncð nauht lytel good þisses andweardan lifes gesælða, ne eac nauht lytel yfel his ungesalða.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iii. xiv. 204 Hi nabbað of heom sylfum þa maran wundru, þa þe in him sylfum ne magon oferswiðan þa lytlan & þa ytemestan uncyste [L. parua uitia atque extrema].
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 15 Icc hafe wennd inn till ennglissh. Goddspelless..lare, Affterr þatt little witt tatt me. Min drihhtin hafeþþ lenedd.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13202 For æuere heo ȝelp makieð heore monscipe is luttel [c1300 Otho þe lasse].
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 5 Of þe whiche þinges our litel konnynge myȝte nouȝt take knowleche.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. Prol. l. 195 (MED) Better is a litel losse þan a longe sorwe.
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Laud) (1998) I. l. 5 I shall teche yoow a lytill ieste That befelle oonys in þe Este.
c1475 (a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 333 (MED) No man shuld liȝe a lytle lesyng to saue þe worlde.
1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge i. 704 Þat litel sinful dede.
c1530 W. Walter Spectacle of Lovers sig. B.ijv He that wyll not suffre suche lytell payne Is not worthy suche pleasure to attayne.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 163 + 1 Where loue is great, the litlest doubts are feare, Where little feares grow great, great loue growes there.
c1620 Lady Hatton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 3 It is a sinn, and that not a lickle one.
1701 Laconics (new ed.) iii. 119 Stay but a while, and you'l find he'l Scribble himself out of his little Reputation.
1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man i. 2 Upon that I proceed,..tho' with very little hopes to reclaim him.
1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. iii. 37 The little hope there was of establishing a good understanding between the Coast Guard and the people.
1885 J. K. Fowler in Daily News 14 July 2/1 Fowl-growing and egg-selling are distinctly little businesses.
1901 F. Norris Octopus i. iii. 100 He was not without a certain energy, but he devoted it to small ends, to perfecting himself in little accomplishments.
1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song iii. 176 She took the littlest keek at his face.
1953 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 53 335/3 The relatively little pain resulting from routine dental treatment.
2006 Metro (Toronto) 13 Apr. 42/3 This season's trendiest shoe shapes are sure to put a little spring in your step.
b. In predicative use with of. Having the quality or performing the action specified to a slight extent only. Now rare.Cf. sense A. 13.
ΚΠ
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2526 Ful litel ys ȝour god of myȝt, þat vytailes ne sent ȝov none.
c1430 (c1380) G. Chaucer Parl. Fowls (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1871) l. 513 I am a sed foul..& litil of cunnynge.
1432 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. May 1432 §43. m. 5 Thei [sc. wines] wex all noght or litell of value.
a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 34 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 300 Loke þou be hynde and lytulle of worde.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope iv. xiv. f. lxxiiij It behoueth not to the yong and lytyl of age to mocke..theyr older.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 46 He lukis as he wald luffit be, thoght he be litill of valour.
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 111 It is little of Value..that can be performed in such perfunctory Pamflets.
1663 E. Waterhouse Fortescutus Illustratus v. 91 Rubrius Cassinas..took one that was little of eminency in appearance, and made him his Heir.
1714 Ladies Libr. III. 80 He who is little of Heart, is also little of Hope.
1810 Farmer's Mag. Mar. 62 I am little of a farmer.
1832 J. B. Fraser Highland Smugglers (1835) I. ix. 163 I am little of a toper at any time.
1880 Chambers's Encycl. VI. 74/2 The Horse-leech..is little of a blood-sucker.
1919 J. R. MacDonald Let. 11 Jan. in G. Bruce & P. H. Scott Sc. Postbag (2002) 211 Here I must stop or you will think I am only bitter and persistent, and indeed I am little of either.
c. Modifying an agent noun, a noun denoting occupation, etc.: that is such on a small scale; = small adj. 18b. Cf. sense A. 6b(b).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial > types of
little1440
one-horse1853
village pump1925
trivia1968
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 308 Lytylle lyare, mendaculus.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 914 Cicero was dogge leane, a litle eater.
1654 M. Stevenson Occasions Off-spring 105 (heading) On W. G. A great swearer but litle lyar.
1689 Reasons against Liberty to export Eng. Woollen-manuf. (Eastland Company) 8 Her own Subjects, being as then but very little Traders.
1767 A. Young Farmer's Lett. 55 A much larger capital than any little farmer can possess.
?1865 G. Tate Hist. Borough, Castle, & Barony Alnwick 299 Thousands of little landowners..were ready at the summons of their feudal lord.
1912 W. E. Weyl New Democracy vii. 82 The little butchers who used to fill our cities and towns with their redolent abattoirs.
1936 Street & Smith's Western Story Mag. 14 Mar. 18/1 Range war, between ‘Cap’ York's Jay Trail, the big outfit, and a number of little ranchers scattered around the edge of the Basin.
1991 H. J. Harris in S. M. Jacoby Masters to Managers ii. v. 117 The open-shop employers' association provides us with a combination lens and lantern for peering into the world of the little businessman.
4. Chiefly attributive. Of immaterial things.
a. Of something visible: appearing only briefly; (also) small and faint.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxii. 486 Ic uneað[e mihte] gesion swiðe lytelne scima[n leohtes] of þissum þiostrum.
OE Judgement Day II 219 Þær leohtes ne leoht lytel sperca earmum ænig.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 377 A litel shymeryng of a light.
1548 T. Cranmer Catechismus sig. H.iv For as fyre kyndled with a litle sparke, doeth oftentymes greate hurte and damage.
1613 T. Jackson Eternall Truth Script. 192 This was but as a little flash in the fire-panne.
a1731 G. Waldron Descr. Isle of Man 99 in Compl. Wks. (1731) He began to see a little Gleam of Light, which, tho' it seemed to come from a vast Distance, yet was the most delightful Sight.
1800 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 90 176 The liquid seemed to have lost its luminous quality except a little glimmer floating at the top.
1891 H. Garland Main-travelled Roads iv. 55 Once in a while Agnes smiled with just a little flash of the old-time sunny temper.
1930 R. D. Power As it Happened xix. 101 In the distance a little gleam of light was shining.
2010 J. H. Keeffe Two Gold Coins & Prayer 317 As we looked to the northwest, we first saw a little glint, then another little glint, and then another little glint off in the distance.
b. Short in distance or duration.
(a) Modifying the thing being measured.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adjective]
shortc888
littleOE
shortlya1050
briefc1400
momentlya1425
small?a1439
momentany1447
momentaneous?a1450
stunta1450
momentaryc1485
momentane1510
hourlya1535
sudden1561
momentaneala1581
span-long1593
momentaneana1599
momental1606
narrow1611
timeless1657
concise1785
succinct1796
ultra-short1962
OE Beowulf (2008) 2097 He on weg losade, lytle hwile lifwynna bre[a]c.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13446 Þer heo leien stille ane lutle [c1300 Otho lutele] stunde.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 174 Nes Brutus i þon londe bute lutel ane wile.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 570 Oþer laske mi liif daywes wiþ-inne a litel terme.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 14755 Ȝe felle þis kirc dune to þe grund, I sal it raise in littel stound.
c1480 (a1400) Prol. 27 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 2 In lytil space here, I wryt þe lyf of sanctis sere.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 1283 (MED) A lytyll tyne hys ey castyng hym besyde.
?c1540 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. ii. App. lxxii. 174 They may think things pas lightly here, that are so little while liked.
1591 J. Harington tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso ii. xii. 10 When that she a litle way had past.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 157 Our little life Is rounded with a sleepe. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 320 And now in little space The Confines met of Empyrean Heav'n And of this World. View more context for this quotation
1675 A. Marvell Let. 11 May in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 154 Although..the House of Commons hath both days been long and very busy, the relation falls within a litle compasse.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 475. ¶2 She hopes to be married in a little time.
1798 W. Gilpin Observ. Western Parts Eng. xvi. 164 They were alarmed with the sound of waves bursting and dashing among rocks, within a little distance of the head of the ship.
1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám iii. 1 You know how little while we have to stay.
1892 Manitoba Daily Free Press 14 Jan. 6/2 The urgent necessities of daily life..leave but little time to think of the culture of the mind.
1953 D. A. Bannerman Birds Brit. Isles I. 23 A bird jumping a little distance into the air.
2003 B. Trapido Frankie & Stankie i. 22 They stomp round and round the bungalow,..while Dinah and her mum are having their lovey-dovey wheezy little rests together in bed.
(b) Modifying a measurement, to emphasize its brevity.In earliest quots. a specific distance. N.E.D. (1903) added ‘Also, in 16–17th centuries, used for: Bare, scarcely complete’, apparently on the basis of quot. 1604, but this interpretation is not supported by contemporary evidence.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > [adjective] > short (of distance)
littlea1387
smalla1398
short1597
the world > space > distance > [adjective] > short (of distance) > of definite distance
littlea1387
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 31 (MED) Þe est arme..bygynneþ aboute a tweie litel myle [L. duobus ferme milibus] fram þe ministre of Ebbercuryng.
c1450 (?c1400) Three Kings Cologne (Cambr. Ee.4.32) (1886) 20 (MED) Bedleem is from ierusalem but ij litel Myle.
1482 W. Caxton tr. Higden's Prolicionycion i. xliii. f. lv Two armes of the see..the est arme of thylk tweyn begynneth about a two lytil mile fro the mynstre of ebburcuring.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cvii. 128 In the mornyng they wer within two lytell leages of Auberoche.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 343 The Abbey of Mauros, which was .ix. little myle from Rosebourgh.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 147 A little month or ere those shooes were old. View more context for this quotation
1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon ii. vii. 312 This retirement of the Duke's being but ten little Leagues from Paris.
1697 tr. L. D. Le Comte Mem. Journey China i. iv. 108 It is off of Nankin Thirty Leagues from the Sea, a little half League broad.
1794 W. Cowper Moralizer Corrected 17 Distant a little mile he spied A western bank's still sunny side.
1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. i. 98 Your brother died Some little hours before.
1848 Ld. Brougham Let. to Marquess of Lansdowne on Late Revol. in France 151 But a little month ago, and..the Germans would have held the like language of national self-complacency.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems v. 5 We, when sets in a little hour the brief light, Sleep one infinite age, a night for ever.
1944 H. Wells Cherry Ames Army Nurse v. 88 Only one little mile more! Then we bivouac!
2012 Wonderland Feb. 140 Do you ever allow yourself to take a little moment to feel proud or excited?
c. Of a text, speech, etc.: short in respect of word length, occupying a small amount of space or time.
ΚΠ
OE Andreas (1932) 1488 Hwæðre git sceolon lytlum sticcum leoðworda dæl furður reccan.
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 2 Ic Ælfric wolde þas lytlan boc awendan to engliscum gereorde of ðam stæfcræfte.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 151 Ðis little writt ic habbe sare beswonken..for ðe to wissin, for ðe to warnin.
a1300 Passion our Lord 1 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 37 (MED) Ihereþ nv one lutele tale þat ich eu wille telle.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 379 (MED) A litil storie is told in presing of our Ladi.
1555 J. Bradforth in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1822) III. ii. App. xlv. 339 Thoughe yt be never so daungerous to me to sett this lyttell treatys abroad.
1665 S. Pepys Diary 5 Nov. (1972) VI. 290 He read me..some little poems of his own.
1759 S. Johnson Let. 23 Mar. in J. Boswell Life Johnson (1831) I. 340 I am going to publish a little story book.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. xi. 25/2 [The] Dingy Priest..preaches forth..one little textlet from the Gospel of Freedom.
1865 Cornhill Mag. Sept. 273 At length came bed-time, and the accustomary little speeches.
1904 W. B. Yeats Let. 11 May (1994) III. 594 You got a big price for those 2 little stories.
1957 Woman's Day (N.Y.) July 14/2 Marlene Dietrich and Vittorio De Sica..are teamed together in a fluffy little fable called The Monte Carlo Story.
2004 S. Maconie Cider with Roadies ii. 24 She loved Dana and her winsome little song for reasons that I now see were completely extra-musical.
d. Small in amount or number; (also) small in value, not worth much (cf. sense A. 6a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adjective]
feweOE
whonc950
litea1000
littleOE
petitc1390
wheenc1400
sobera1535
slim1852
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > small or trifling in amount or degree
eathlyc890
littleOE
slender1530
foolish1533
triflinga1538
paltry1565
puny?1594
mean1599
minikin1617
unconsiderable1643
inconsiderable1648
punctilio1660
sneaking1703
insignificant1748
flimsy1756
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
microscopic1798
pindling1861
midget1879
diddly1893
scroddyc1909
chickenshit1934
OE Blickling Homilies 41 Gif ge þonne tweogaþ be þæm ælmessum.., & ge eow ondrædaþ þæt ge onfon to lytlum leanum, þonne forleosaþ ge þa ælmessan.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 656 Hit is litel þeos gife.
a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 73 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 163 (MED) Lutel lac is gode lof þet kumeð of gode wille.
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 166 He..halt þerof ful litel prys.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 1086 The knyght..put..a litill dele of watir in hys mowthe.
1598 T. Bastard Chrestoleros i. xxi. 14 The Printer when I askt a little summe, Huckt with me for my booke, & came not nere.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 159 I said thou hadst a fine witte, true said she, a fine little one. View more context for this quotation
1693 T. Creech in J. Dryden tr. Juvenal Satires xiii. 261 A little Sum you Mourn, while Most have met With twice the Loss.
1728 M. Earbery tr. T. Burnet Of State of Dead (ed. 2) I. viii. 225 Particles are collected again..into different Quantities of Matter,..and then these little Quantities are moulded into the antient Form, Lineaments and Members of the Body.
a1777 S. Foote Devil upon Two Sticks (1778) ii. 44 [Scotsman] Ah! for the mater of that, it is a praty smart little income.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. v. i. 346 He was no longer at a loss for his little pocket expenses.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 335 Proprietors, who..derived their subsistence from little freehold estates.
1873 A. Shiels Rusticating in Reality 13 Avails it ought procrastinating, when We may at such a very little cost Indulge our foible.
1900 T. Dreiser Sister Carrie xx. 215 I'll straighten out that little deal of mine this month and then we'll get married.
1955 M. Hastings Cork & Serpent xiv. 210 I gotta little present for you.
2013 T. von L. Newth Ad-makers 59/2 You kind of dread it because of the sheer amount of drawing in a little amount of time.
e. Of something audible: not loud, deep, or clear, and perhaps short in duration.
ΚΠ
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) xvii. vii. sig. Sv And thenne a lytyl voyce said, Salamon, the last knyghte of thy lygnage shalle reste in this bedde.
1518 H. Watson tr. Hystorye Olyuer of Castylle xxxviii. sig. I.ij Makynge a lytell syghe anguysshous, for other thynge coude he not answere.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream i. ii. 48 Ile speake in a monstrous little voice. View more context for this quotation
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words An Inkling of a matter, a small rumour or report, as it were a tinckling, or little sound.
1721 E. Young Revenge iv. i. 47 Shutting their Ears to all her little Cries.
1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 490 The morning after she had thus parted with her children, she heard their little voices.
1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 99 Tiny Tim..had a plaintive little voice, and sang it very well indeed.
1892 I. Zangwill Children of Ghetto I. xxviii. 411 ‘But oh!’—with a little scream—‘you naughty boy!’
1941 M. Treadgold We couldn't leave Dinah iii. 58 Thomas gave a little sigh of relief.
1999 F. Wynne tr. M. Houellebecq Atomised (2001) 227 I heard him come with a little noise like water going down a plughole.
5. Of a collective unity: having few members, inhabitants, parts, etc.Sometimes coinciding with sense A. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adjective] > containing few members
littleOE
few?a1425
small?a1439
thin1508
short1681
OE Genesis A (1931) 2519 Ic wat heaburh her ane neah, lytle ceastre.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 32 Ne ondræd þu þe, la lytle heord.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 1 A litel town Which þt clepid is Bobbe vpanddown.
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xviii. sig. f.iiii A lytell vyllage, called Exmynge.
1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. iv. xxxii. f. 152v A litle parte of these reliques were at that time in this monasterie.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. i. 13 Our Court shalbe a lytlle Achademe.
1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xii. 4 If the houshold be too little [Coverdale few] for the lambe. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. ii. 46 A little Heard of Englands timorous Deere. View more context for this quotation
1696 View Court St. Germain 2 The number of the Consciencious Jacobites..must be very little.
1729 Prosodia Chirurgica 39 Celsa, a little Collection of vagrant Spirits that [etc.].
1774 Ambulator 125 Only the brow is crowned with wood, and towards the bottom is a little group of trees.
a1800 W. Cowper Epist. to R. Lloyd in Poems (1980) I. 55 Sworn foes..That..Make cruel inroads in my brain, And daily threaten to drive thence My little garrison of sense.
1820 J. Keats Ode on Grecian Urn in Lamia & Other Poems 115 What little town by river or sea shore..Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
1879 W. D. Whitney Sanskrit Gram. 157 In a little class of instances (eight) the root has a preposition prefixed.
1902 J. Gairdner Eng. Church 16th Cent. xiii. 246 The Protector might..have reckoned on the devotion of a little band of Scotsmen..to assist him.
1931 Good Housek. (U.S. ed.) Dec. 206/2 A little flock of Florida meadow larks which..live in the woods.
1963 R. Hofstadter Anti-intellectualism in Amer. Life ii. iv. 101 Methodists began to sponsor several academies and a few creditable little colleges.
2001 E. M. Göknar tr. O. Pamuk My Name is Red (2002) liii. 342 Let's hope the Janissaries don't catch sight of this fully equipped little army.
6.
a. Of things, feelings, actions, etc.: not of great importance or interest; trifling, trivial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial
eathlyc890
lighteOE
littleOE
small?c1225
singlec1449
easy1474
triflous1509
naughty1526
slender1530
slight1548
shrimpish1549
slipper1567
truanta1572
toyous1581
trivious1583
mean1585
silly1587
nicea1594
puny?1594
puisne1598
pusill1599
whindling1601
sapless1602
non-significant1603
poor1603
unsignificant1603
flea-bite1605
perishing1605
lank1607
weightless1610
fonda1616
penny farthing1615
triviala1616
unweighty1621
transitory1637
twattling1651
inconsiderate1655
unserious1655
nugal1656
small drink1656
slighty1662
minute1668
paddling1679
snitling1682
retail1697
Lilliputian1726
vain1731
rattletrap1760
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
underling1804
venial1806
lightweight1809
floccinaucical1826
small-bore1833
minified1837
trantlum1838
piffling1848
tea-tabular1855
potty1860
whipping-snapping1861
tea-gardeny1862
quiddling1863
twaddling1863
fidgeting1865
penny ante1865
feather-weighted1870
jerkwater1877
midget1879
mimsy1880
shirttail1881
two-by-four1885
footle1894
skittery1905
footery1929
Mickey Mouse1931
chickenshit1934
minoritized1945
marginal1952
marginalized1961
tea-party1961
little league1962
marginalizing1977
minnowy1991
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) i. 181 Hwi wolde god swa lytles þinges him forwyrnan?
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 17 (MED) Ouer litel þing ðu ware trewe; ouer michel þing ic ðe scal setten.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xvi. 10 He that is wickid in a litil thing, is wickid also in the more.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3302 Leue freind..þine asking Es noght bot a litell thing.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 54 Amonges ffelacheppe whan þou dost sytt, A lytyl othe..may dampne thy sowle.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iii. 206 How long a time lies in one little word. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) ii. ii. 138 All little Ielousies which now seeme great..Would then be nothing. View more context for this quotation
1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 31 The little envies of them [sc. women] to one another.
1697 M. Tindal Ess. Concerning Power of Magistrate ii. vii. 167 Except Persecution is wholly abhorred, any little Accident or Turn may hazard the Liberty of any Sect whatever.
1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless II. xviii. 215 Every little circumstance..seems a missioner from fate.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 524 Every little discontent appears to him to portend a revolution.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iii. v. 43 Constant attention in the littlest things.
1909 J. K. Jerome Fanny & Servant Probl. 87 It was just a little mistake—and everybody will say how fortunate it was that she took herself off so soon with that.
2003 C. Birch Turn again Home vi. 89 I'm getting really scaredy-cat these days. Every little thing's got my nerves on edge.
b. Of people. See also little folk n. 1, little man n. 4, little people n. 2, little woman n. 3.
(a) Not having wealth, status, or influence; undistinguished and ordinary, poor. Formerly also: †having a modest or low estimate of one's importance, humble (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [adjective]
leasteOE
wokec897
littleOE
lowc1175
eathlyc1200
smallc1275
simplec1300
meana1375
humblec1386
ignoble1447
servile1447
base1490
slighta1500
sober1533
silly1568
unresponsal1579
dunghilled1600
villainous1607
without name1611
woollena1616
dunghilly1616
unresponsible1629
under-stateda1661
low-down1865
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xxv. 40 Quamdiu fecistis uni de his fratribus meis minimis, mihi fecistis : ðende gie dyde anum of ðisum broðrum minum lytlum me gie dydon.
OE Crist III 1424 Lytel þuhte ic leoda bearnum, læg ic on heardum stane, cildgeong on crybbe.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 508 He ðe is ai in heuene mikel Wurð her man & tus was litel.
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 156 (MED) Þe prelates of holy chirche, litel & mychel, þat louen þe richesse of þis werlde.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 13 I am..litil seruant vnto the quene of the contre.
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 75 (MED) If þou coudist at all tymes abide meke & litel in þiself.
?1550 T. Becon Jewel of Joye sig. E.vv The lyttle ones that is to saye, to theym that be humble mynded, meke in spirite lowly in herte.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Sam. xv. 17 When thou wast litle in thine owne sight. View more context for this quotation
1694 E. Settle Ambitious Slave v. 50 Thy kind Brother Like the Great Jove has..Stript all my guilty Greatness to a little Poor naked Slave.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 152. ⁋5 To learn how to become little without being mean.
1851 E. D. E. N. Southworth Mother-in-law i. xvii. 56/2 What was the applause of the little townspeople compared to this aristocratic society!
1906 ‘L. Malet’ Far Horizon xxxviii. 410 Slowby and the bishopric were ahead of him; Trimmer's Green and all its quaint unimportant little inhabitants behind.
1998 D. Baldacci Simple Truth ii. 11 It's right up his alley. Little person against a big bureaucracy.
(b) Applied, sometimes with connotations of social inferiority, to tradespeople, usually ones who do work (especially tailoring or dressmaking) on commission.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > dressmaking > [adjective] > dressmaker
little1618
1618 F. Beaumont in H. Fitzgeffrey Certain Elegies sig. A2v Pointed at in euery company, As was that little Tayler, who till death Was hote in loue with Queene Elizabeth.
1745 tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Robert Chevalier II. iv. 13 I exhorted the little Taylor not to marry only with a View of obeying the Laws.
1780 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal iv. iii. 54 'Tis a little French Milliner, who calls upon me sometimes.
1830 Q. Rev. Jan. 215 The graziers, and drovers, and little shopkeepers, look with apprehension to the loss of their cheap and home remedy for recovering their debts.
1857 E. C. Gaskell Let. 28 Sept. (1966) 476 Only last week a letter to a little dressmaker, living not a mile off..was returned to me by the Post Office.
1862 W. M. Thackeray Adventures of Philip III. i. 16 She was as intrepid a little jobber as ever lived.
1930 E. H. Young Miss Mole xxvii. 239 Ethel's Chinese silk had been made up hastily by an obliging little dressmaker.
1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come xi. 239 He..selected a lightweight bush jacket suit from the closet... ‘You like it? I have a little tailor downtown make them up for me.’
2007 J. Armstrong et al. Thick of It: Scripts Special 1. 276 Don't you have a little sandwich flunky?
7. Contemptible, paltry, mean; small-minded. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [adjective] > contemptible
unworthc893
unwrastc893
littleOE
narrow-hearteda1200
wretcha1200
unworthya1240
wretchedc1250
un-i-wrastc1275
bad1276
lechera1300
feeblea1325
despisablea1340
villain1340
contemptiblec1384
lousyc1386
caitiff1393
brothelyc1400
roinousa1425
poor1425
sevenpennyc1475
nasty1477
peakish1519
filthy1533
despectuous1541
beggary1542
scald1542
shitten?1545
disdainfula1547
contemptuous1549
despicable1553
skit-brained?1553
contemniblea1555
vile1560
sluttish1561
queer1567
scornful1570
scallardc1575
tinkerly?1576
worthless1576
beggarly?1577
paltry1578
halfpenny1579
dog bolt1580
pitiful1582
sneaking1582
triobolar1585
wormisha1586
baddy1586
dudgeon1592
measled1596
packstaff1598
roguey1598
roguish1601
contemptful1608
grovelling1608
lightly1608
disdainable1611
purulent1611
snotty-nose1622
vilipendious1630
cittern-headed1638
wormy1640
pissabed1643
triobolary1644
disparageable1648
blue-bellied1652
unestimable1656
scullion1658
piteous1667
dirty1670
shabbed1674
shabby1679
snotty1681
snotty-nosed1682
mucky1683
bollocky1694
scoundrel1700
scaldeda1704
sneaking1703
ficulnean1716
unsolid1731
pitiable1753
scrubby1754
inimitable1798
scrubbish1798
worm-likea1807
small1824
lowlife1827
ketty1828
skunkish1831
yellow-bellied1833
scaly1843
cockroachya1845
wutless1853
nigger1859
trashy1862
low-down1872
cruddy1877
shitty1879
tinhorn1886
blithering1889
motherfucking1890
snidey1890
pilgarlicky1894
shitass1895
shoddy1918
yah boo1921
bitching1929
shit-faced1932
turdish1936
fricking1937
jerk-off1937
chickenshit1940
sheg-up1941
snot-nosed1941
jerky1944
mother-loving1948
scroungy1948
fecking1952
pissant1952
shit-kicking1953
shit-eating1956
bumboclaat1957
rassclaat1957
shit-headed1959
farkakte1960
shithouse1966
daggy1967
dipshit1968
scuzzy1969
bloodclaat1971
bitch ass1972
wanky1972
streelish1974
twatty1975
twattish1976
dweeby1988
douchey1991
wank1991
cockish1996
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [adjective]
unkinda1393
uncharitablec1485
incharitable1496
strait-laced1546
ingenerous1635
lean-souled1639
ungenerous1641
mean1665
straitened1712
strait1760
strait-hearted1760
little1766
unmagnanimous1788
narrowing1827
shoddy1918
OE St. Mary of Egypt (Gloucester) (2002) 78 Seo gyfu þæs [Haligan Gastes to þam gerihte] þæt ðu hwylce þenunga minon lytlan lichaman to gehyðnysse gegearwige.
1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 218 Litille,..decliuus ad ingenium pertinet,..paulus mediocritatis est, paululus, pupus, pusulanimis.
1576 G. Gascoigne Droomme of Doomes Day ii. sig. G.iijv May not then yt lawgiuer..disdayne much when he seeth vs vyle litle wormes of the earth.
c1665 L. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1973) 145 One of their owne members, who encourag'd all those little men in their wicked prosecution of him.
1693 J. Dryden in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires xiv. Notes 293 He Dy'd a very little Death..being Martyr'd by the fall of a Tyle from a House.
1701 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother ii. ii. 804 I hear thee and disdain thy little Malice.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 268. ⁋2 [It] renders the Nose-puller odious, and makes the Person pulled by the Nose look little and contemptible.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 286 Haughtiness is always little.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xi. 308 The little passions which so frequently perplex a female reign.
1829 E. Bulwer-Lytton Devereux I. ii. viii. 234 The littlest feeling of all, is a delight in contemplating the littleness of other people.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters xix. 484 They do this with the little cunning of little minds.
1918 New World May 121/1 The stubborn levity with which this terrific transaction of turning the world upside down is approached by a host of busy, fussy, little minds is truly appalling.
2012 J. Chittister Aspects of Heart 18 God..is beyond any puny, little, parochial image we make of God.
8. Independently conveying an attitude or feeling in addition to having the sense ‘of small size, amount, length, or duration’.
a. Implying endearment or appreciation, or tender feeling on the part of the speaker. Also coupled with an adjective expressing such feelings, as pretty little, sweet little, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [adjective]
sweeta1225
ownc1300
deara1325
littlec1405
whitec1460
bonny1540
honeya1556
nitty1598
honey-sweeta1616
old1644
dearie1691
ou1838
diddy1963
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Prioress's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 64 This litel child his litel book lernynge As he sat..at his prymer.
a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) l. 3022 Go, litil book, and humbilly beseche The werriourys.
a1525 Bk. Sevyne Sagis l. 330, in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 11 This litill prety pynula.
1567 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 36 The wois that Ouid in Ibin Into his pretty lytill buik did wryte.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. i. 191 And when shee weepes, weepes euery little flower. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iv. 209 I pray thee Iack be quiet, the rascal's gone, ah you horson little vliaunt villaine you. View more context for this quotation
1694 A. Wood Life 23 June I returned from London in the company of a little poore thing, Sir Lacy Osbaldeston.
1757 A. G. Impetuous Lover II. xiv. 235 Both my children have had the small pox,..yet, my dear little Iris, will be no less beautiful than ever.
1793 C. Dibdin Younger Brother II. iii. iii. 37 Their little pleasures were, it is true, not more than the sports of children.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Cyclops in Posthumous Poems (1824) 341 My dear sweet master, My darling little Cyclops.
1850 C. Dickens David Copperfield xxvi. 275 She had the most delightful little voice, the gayest little laugh, the pleasantest and most fascinating little ways, that ever led a lost youth into hopeless slavery.
1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. viii. 23 Sweet was her carriage, sweet the little folds Of her fair dress close drawn with meekest care.
1905 C. H. M. Gaskell Spring in Shropshire Abbey iii. 113 It was a sweet little baby dog with a crinkly-crankly black phiz and dear little blinking, cloudy blue eyes.
1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman xix. 290 She was most good-natured in playing at spillikins with dear little Harry and John.
a1983 ‘R. West’ Sunflower (1986) iii. 100 I lost a dear little sister, sweet little Bridget, when she was twelve years old, God rest the little angel.
1997 J-17 Oct. 94/1 All your rough edges and endearing little quirks have to be hidden.
b. Implying knowingness, condescension, or disapproval on the part of the speaker. Cf. sense A. 10.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial > in playful use
little1711
1711 E. Budgell Spectator No. 175. ⁋2 A Jezebel..has a thousand little Tricks and Fooleries to attract the Eyes of all the idle young Fellows.
1802 Noble Wanderers I. 268 The little plan he had laid for the reinstation of the deposed king.
1837 Lady's Mag. & Museum May 298/2 Like the little game of life, the best cards often prove the worst to the player.
1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 72 How long do you mean to carry on this little game?
1888 H. R. Haggard Col. Quaritch ix How well she managed that little business of the luncheon.
1900 H. Lawson On Track 10 The song he is about to sing illustrates some of the little ways of woman.
1926 M. R. Rinehart & A. Hopwood Bat vii. 119 ‘I have read a great deal on the detection of crime,’ she said hotly, ‘and—’ ‘Well, we all have our little hobbies,’ he said tolerantly.
1938 ‘E. Queen’ Devil to Pay xii. 181 I'll spike your little scheme. I'm getting a lawyer to file a protest.
2005 Time Out N.Y. 14 Apr. 167/1 I don't want anyone's sordid little hopes to be dashed after reading this week's showcase letter.
9. With place names signifying resemblance to or association with the place specified, or the fact of its being a ‘colony’ or microcosm of it (as a community of expatriates, an immigrant quarter, etc.).See also Little England n., Little Venice n. at Compounds 1d.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [adjective] > part reminiscent of other place
little1577
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1808/2 Vnder the place called little London, where they were busy in fortifying all that day, three or foure hundred of their shotte were placed.
1615 W. Barclay Callirhoe sig. A4 Euen a French man himselfe might judge Aberdene to be the Lutetiola, or litle Paris of this Septentrionall corner of North Britanne.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Devon 266 The Devonians have a Little London (understand it Exeter) in their own County.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure I. 134 But had it been a dungeon..his presence would have made it a little Versailles.
1798 C. Cruttwell Univ. Gazetteer I. at Bath Walls, gates, and temples, were erected, and a little Rome began to adorn a dreary inhospitable wild.
1842 W. Howitt Rural & Domest. Life Germany xv. 446 He made..Halberstadt the little Athens of Germany.
1889 Times 14 June 11/6 A district called Little Ireland, which was very dangerous years ago, was now very orderly.
1909 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) L[ittle] Hungary, Italy, etc., the Hungarian, Italian, etc., quarter in a city;—so called in various cities of the United States. colloq.
1929 H. Miles tr. P. Morand Black Magic i. 46 The Negro quarter, ‘Little Africa’, as it is called.
1947 H. A. Smith Lo, Former Egyptian (ed. 2) i. 13 If you take a map of Illinois and draw a line east and west from Vincennes, Indiana, to St. Louis, Missouri, all that part of the state to the south of the line..is called Egypt or, sometimes, Little Egypt.
1971 R. A. Carter Manhattan Primitive (1972) i. 14 Monroe Street, deep in Little Italy.
1989 C. R. Wilson & W. Ferris Encycl. Southern Culture 439/1 Many of the migrants settled in separate neighborhoods called ‘little Oklahomas’, where they set up their own..churches.
2012 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 25 Jan. a17/2 Mr. Gingrich..made the requisite pilgrimage to Versailles, a Cuban restaurant in Little Havana, to sip a cafecito and denounce Fidel and Raúl Castro.
10. Used as an (ironic) intensifier in various constructions, as quite a little ——, quite the little ——, a nice little ——, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > considerable in amount or degree
goodeOE
fairOE
goodlyc1275
largea1375
no littlea1413
substantial1413
unleast?1440
prettya1475
reasonablea1500
substantious1545
substantive1575
sensible1581
pretty and ——1596
goody1597
greatish1611
considerable1651
sonsy1721
respectable1736
smart1750
quite a little ——1763
gey1796
smartish1799
canny1805
serious1810
right smart1825
dunnamuch1831
snug1833
tidy1839
bonnyish1855
largish1872
a nice little ——1891
significant1898
healthy1901
beaucoup1917
1763 G. Colman Deuce is in Him i. 6 I know her whole history; It is quite a little novel.
1819 J. Keats Let. 14 Feb. (1931) II. 320 Says he, ‘O, he is quite the little poet’... You might as well say Buonaparte is quite the little soldier.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xxiv. 228 Miss Blanche..had quite a little museum of locks of hair in her treasure-chest.
1861 Sporting Rev. Oct. 249 Kettledrum's walk-over was quite a little tit-bit for the Yorkshiremen.
1891 N. Gould Double Event xvi. 112 A nice little swindle you worked off on me that time.
1919 Fitchburg (Mass.) Daily Sentinel 21 Feb. 13/5 (cartoon caption) Tom is quite the little humorist.
1949 N. Marsh Swing, Brother, Swing iv. 57 Now that's quite a nifty little idea.
1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye xv. 127 ‘Who is this?’ she said. She was quite a little phoney. I'd already told her father who it was.
a1978 S. T. Warner One Thing leading to Another (1985) 8 He..made a nice little profit on the transaction, having bought them off a white-elephant stall for eighteenpence apiece.
2009 N. Cave Death Bunny Munro (2010) xx. 172 The open-lidded, upright Bösendorfer along the far wall..would be a nice little earner for some enterprising antique dealer in a couple of years.
II. Chiefly attributive (as determiner) with mass or collective nouns.
* Opposed to much.
11. With negative emphasis: not much; only a slight amount or degree of; hardly any.
a. Without adverbial modification.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective]
littleeOE
smalla1350
poor1598
pipsqueak1920
pisher1958
diddy1963
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > small in quantity, amount, or degree
littleeOE
litec1175
smallc1325
somedealc1340
slight1530
diminutive1602
minor1612
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > low in degree or intensity
littleeOE
lowa1300
remiss1620
low-grade1891
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > not much/hardly any
littleeOE
smalla1350
scant1852
bugger-all1948
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxv. 218 Sceawige mon georne hwilc se utgang sie, þe micel þe lytel þe þær nan ne sie.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 God wimman scæ wæs, oc scæ hedde litel blisse mid him.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 5 Ðe mare ðe me of hire litel ȝeme nimþ.
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2125 Tristrem, for soþe to say, Y wold þe litel gode.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 530 (MED) Þow may þam find with litul suink.
?1520 R. Pynson tr. Frère Hayton Lytell Cronycle f. i/1 Cathayns..haue theyr eyen very smale, and lytell heer on their berdes.
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Eijv There is little trafficque or marchaundise in this region.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. i. 12 Then know that I haue little wealth to loose. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 143 Strong Desires th' impatient Youth invade; By little Caution and much love betray'd. View more context for this quotation
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies II. xxxix. 82 There is little Corn or Pulse grows in this Country but what is nourisht in Gardens.
a1790 R. Henry Hist. Great Brit. (1793) VI. iv. 541 He had little success, and found the academicians of Cambridge as ignorant and averse to study as those of Oxford.
1828 T. B. Macaulay Hallam's Constit. Hist. in Edinb. Rev. Sept. 126 He had little money, little patronage,—no military establishment.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xviii. 213 William..was able to attack the town from the point where it gained little advantage from its site.
1899 F. T. Bullen Way Navy 59 Torpedo-boat people are accustomed to put up with many things of which landsmen have little idea.
1931 V. Woolf Waves 73 I have little aptitude for reflection.
1967 W. Golding Pyramid (1969) 1 Darkness fell early—indeed, there had seemed little light all day.
2009 J. A. Coyne Why Evol. is True vii. 204 There is little doubt..that the Welsh groundsel represents a new species.
b. With adverbs, esp. of degree or making comparisons and assessments, as very, but, too, so, etc.See note at sense A. 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > [adjective] > smaller of two countries
littleOE
OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xiii. Introd. Þa seofode he to Drihtne.., þæt æfre on his dagum sceolde gewurðan swa lytle treowa, and swa lytel wisdom wære on worulde.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. i. 11 Þær wæs wæter to lytel to manna þenunge in þam gebeorscipe.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. i. l. 139 (MED) To litel latyn þow lernedest, lede, in þi ȝouthe.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 104 The folk..han but litill appetyt to mete.
c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 16 The kynges folkes..were so abused that they made but litle prese.
1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Blacke Smyth x In wyt he had so little pyth.
1594 O. B. Questions Profitable Concernings K 3 b I stand in very little neede..to haue these vnpleasantnesses renued.
1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. Ad Aul. vii. 141 Some small trifle or other: which being of very little worth or use..may therefore be called nought or nothing.
1698 G. Stanhope tr. Thomas à Kempis Christian's Pattern ii. i. 79 Since then so little Confidence is due to his Succours, the Concern ought not to be great, if he withdraw or deny them.
1720 R. Mead Pref. Disc. Plague 222 Such counter-steps will happen in a government, where there is too much of faction, and too little publick spirit.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure I. 171 It cost me but little regret to take my leave.
1775 tr. Valuable Secrets Arts & Trades 131 Smalt is a blue colour, which has very little substance.
1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xix. 225 A gunshot wound..takes place with so little disturbance of the neighbouring parts, that it is sometimes scarcely felt.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxiii She got under weigh with very little fuss.
1870 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (ed. 2) I. i. i. 6 Where there is extremely little power of generating motion,..there is no nervous system.
1906 W. H. Laws Heroes of Great Lakes 47 Owing to the fierce wind and great seas they could make but little headway.__
1937 W. Lewis Revenge for Love i. v. 54 Bouncing angrily over with too little regard to his condition.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 114 793/1 The more exact and reliable measurement and categorization of clinical events receives rather little attention.
2008 C. Newkey-Burden in J. Burchill & C. Newkey-Burden Not in my Name 82 More and more of us are willing to damn an entire nation and its people on so little evidence.
c. no little: great, considerable, marked; = no small at small adj. 5c. Cf. no adj. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > considerable in amount or degree
goodeOE
fairOE
goodlyc1275
largea1375
no littlea1413
substantial1413
unleast?1440
prettya1475
reasonablea1500
substantious1545
substantive1575
sensible1581
pretty and ——1596
goody1597
greatish1611
considerable1651
sonsy1721
respectable1736
smart1750
quite a little ——1763
gey1796
smartish1799
canny1805
serious1810
right smart1825
dunnamuch1831
snug1833
tidy1839
bonnyish1855
largish1872
a nice little ——1891
significant1898
healthy1901
beaucoup1917
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 1093 This was no litel sorwe for to se.
1479 W. Caxton in Earl Rivers tr. Cordyal (colophon) The great labours & charges yt he hath had..which hath be to him no litle thought & besines bothe in spirite and in body.
1530 King Henry VIII Let. in R. Fiddes Life Wolsey (1724) Collect. 181 Being informed, to our no little Marvell and Discontentation [etc.].
1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. Gv They [sc. goldsmiths]..can temper mettals shrewdly, with no little profite to themselues.
c1605 R. Carew Let. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 99 It importes no litle disgrace to our Nation, that others have so many Academyes, and wee none at all.
1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece i. 62 We eat heartily, and with no little satisfaction.
1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 187 These Causeys..are of no little Use, both to keep in the Waters of these Canals, and for those to walk on who drag the Boats along.
1789 Crit. Rev. Oct. 263 Through all the work there is much doubt, much uncertainty, and no little distrust of former accounts.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 162 The work-room of Simon Glover was filled to crowding by personages of no little consequence.
1869 C. Boutell tr. J. P. Lacombe Arms & Armour vii. 114 The knight would find the act of rising to be attended with no little difficulty.
1932 Flight 8 July 638/1 Night sky-writing..was considered at no little length.
1988 H. Mantel Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (1989) 125 ‘Nescafé freeze-dried,’ Samira said, with no little pride. ‘Not Arabic coffee.?’
2006 Metro 17 Oct. (London ed.) 28/2 The dancers..throw themselves at it with such ingenuous gusto and no little skill that you wish they had material worthy of their talents.
12. With more positive emphasis: a small quantity of; some, though not much.
†a. Without a. Obsolete. rare.After Old English, apparently only as poetic licence.
ΚΠ
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxiv. 214 Clæfran seawes ii..bollan fulle mid lytle hunige gemengde, do wear fulne gehættes wines to.
OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 35 Þa cwæð se hælend, nu gyt ys lytel leoht on eow.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (2nd issue) iii. i. 42 A body yet distempered, Which to his former strength may be restored, With good aduise and little medicine. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) v. i. 168 O do not sweare, Hold little faith, though thou hast too much feare. View more context for this quotation
b. a little.Compare sense B. 3a(a), from which it probably originated by ellipsis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > some but not much
fewOE
a little1540
something1654
curn1785
lOE St. Nicholas (Corpus Cambr.) (1997) 92 Nu hæbbe ic her an litel ele þæt ic wolde þærmide lacnian þam Godes freond.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 23 A lutel ater bitteret muchel swete.
a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 65 Tac a lutel radel ant grynt to thin asise.
c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 604/20 Posse, a lytyl hauynge, or a lytyl myght.
c1450 Med. Recipes (BL Add. 33996) in F. Heinrich Mittelengl. Medizinbuch (1896) 134 Take harde spaynessh sepe and a litul stale ale.
1540 R. Jonas tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde ii. f. lxxiiv The iuyce of quynces with a lyttell cloues and sugre.
1598 F. Bacon Ess. f. 25v A little naturall philosophie..doth dispose the opinion to Atheisme.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 176 As a little snow, tumbled about, Anon becomes a Mountaine. View more context for this quotation
1679 A. Behn Feign'd Curtizans iii. i. 28 Cou'd you not..throw in a little Love and constancy; to inch out that want of honesty of yours.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 14 A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing.
1769 J. Wesley Let. 24 Apr. (1931) V. 132 Touch no supper but a little milk or water gruel.
1800 Philos. Mag. 7 302 If I apply,..with a little pressure, any one of these delicate parts..to the point of a metallic wire, [etc.].
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 6 By a little patience, prudence, and justice, such a toleration might have been obtained.
1879 M. E. Braddon Cloven Foot xxxviii You really may as well let me have a little food.
1901 H. Black Culture & Restraint iii. 88 It takes a great deal of life to make a little art.
1971 I. Murdoch Accidental Man 25 Mitzi had saved a little money from the time when she had been a successful athlete.
2003 Ace June 66/4 Drinks that are labelled isotonic have a little sugar (6–8g carbohydrate to every 100ml of drink).
†13. Forming a privative expression with the noun modified, with the sense ‘lack of, absence or scarcity of (what the noun denotes)’. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [noun] > state of being limited in amount > scarcity, dearth, or deficient supply of anything
littleOE
dear cheapc1325
dearth1340
scanta1350
scantityc1386
scarcenessa1387
scarcitya1400
chertea1420
penury?a1425
poverty?1440
penuritya1500
geason1509
carity1530
scantness1543
famishment1569
fewty1596
famine1611
stint1651
grutch1815
OE Paris Psalter (1932) lxxxviii. 41 Gemune, mære god, hwæt si min lytle sped.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xli. 379 Þeah we fela smean, we habbað litellne gearowitan buton tweon. Ac þam englum nis nan tweo nanes þæra þinga þe hi witon.
a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch. 3) (1967) 7 Þe fifþe þen is litil ȝernynge of þat men aftir preyen.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Ci The lytell corage, la pusillanimité.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 213 They thinke my little stomack to the warre..restraines you thus. View more context for this quotation
1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. vi. 594 Surena was constrain'd by his little victuals.
1752 E. Burke Let. 28 Sept. in Corr. (1958) I. 113 Our little curiosity perhaps cleard us of that imputation [of being spies].
1807 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 21 God help me for my little wit!
** Opposed to many.
14. Modifying a plural (now usually with collective sense) or collective singular: not many, few. Now colloquial or nonstandard.
ΚΠ
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke xii. 48 Qui autem non cognouit et non fecit digna, plagis uapulabit paucis : seðe ðonne ne ongætt & ne dyde ða gerisno..wuræccum geswuing lytlum uel hwon [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. feawum].
OE Blickling Homilies 23 Þa nolde he him geceosan welige yldran, ac þa þe hæfdon lytle worldspeda.
a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 344 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 230 Go we þane narewe pað and þene wei grene, [Þ]ar forð fareð wel litel folc.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15026 Wið an luttel ȝeren.
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 2468 Þemperour..Wille huntte to morwe..Wiþ litel folk & nouȝt wiþ miche.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) v. l. 332 Cleomenes..With litil peeple made his foon to flee.
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 541 Desiring to know what accident brought him thither, especially armed, where little Armes was required.
1660 T. Fuller Mixt Contempl. i. xvii. 28 Our late Civil warre which lasted so long in our land; yet left so little signs behind it.
1668 J. Dryden Sr Martin Mar-all ii. 22 You have so little Brains, that a Penn'orth of Butter melted under 'um would set 'um afloat.
1735 Lord B— Let. 13 Sept. in J. Swift Lett. (1768) 40 No manner of shame that a head should be uncovered that has so little brains in it.
1783 London Mag. Oct. 301/1 It was emaciated, and showed little signs of life at first.
1861 U. S. Grant Let. 21 Nov. in War of Rebellion (U.S. War Dept.) (1882) 1st Ser. VII. 442 The Quartermaster's Department has been carried on here with so little funds that Government credit has become exhausted.
1906 Black Diamond 7 July 33/1 Most of them had but little supplies left.
1996 Health Advisor Dec. 78/2 The bone has precious little reserves to fall back onto during the healing process.
2013 Church Times 29 Nov. (Gen. Synod Suppl.) 4/5 They had a ‘real desire for evangelism, but very little resources’.
B. pron. and n.
I. Pronoun uses. Cf. much pron. and n. 1.
1. With negative emphasis: not much; a (very) small amount or quantity. Cf. sense B. 3a.
a. Unmodified.
(a) With of and a noun phrase or (in early use) †partitive genitive (see also sense B. 2).Now chiefly where the noun phrase contains a determiner and hence the simple adjective (sense A. 11a) cannot be used.The construction with absolute uses of an adjective (as in quot. 1824) is literary [perhaps after French peu de] to give little of, to make little of, to see little of, to set little of, etc.: see the verbs.
ΚΠ
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxv. 84 Gif þu wolde þæt sio sealf swiðre sie do lytel sealtes to.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1091 Se eorl Rodbeard..mid þam cynge wunode & litel soðes þæronmang of heora forewarde onfand.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 921 That lord hath litel of discrecioun That in swich caas kan no dyuysioun.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 172 (MED) In þat kyngdom of Medee þere ben many grete hilles & litill of pleyn erthe.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. diij Off spare hawke bellis ther is chooce and lyttill of charge of thaym.
1556 T. Hill tr. B. Cocles Brief Epitomye Phisiognomie xxxv. sig. E.viii They [sc. byrdes] be light after nature, & vnstable, haue lytle of the terrestrial substaunce or grauity.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 321 Theres little of the melancholy element in her my lord. View more context for this quotation
a1677 I. Barrow Serm. Several Occasions (1678) 185 He hath little of the Serpent, (none of..its rancorous venom, of its keen mordacity..).
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. Introd. iii. 73 Four volumes of institutes,..though they have little of the institutional method to warrant such a title.
1824 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. II. xvi. 306 There was little of sound and salutary which they did not derive from Democritus or from Pythagoras.
1833 T. Moore Mem. VI. 337 [Stones like] those at Stonehenge..have but little of new or marvellous for him who has seen the rocks beyond the Atlantic.
1880 Academy 9 Oct. 265/1 Though there is little of much importance, the exhibition shows a great improvement in technique.
1929 F. Leverett Moraines & Shore Lines Lake Superior Basin 41/1 Little of the material is so clayey as to show any lamination.
1969 D. Kopf Brit. Orientalism & Bengal Renaissance iv. xii. 196 Rammohun [Roy]..owed little of his enlightenment to European contact and..shared little of his vision with Bengali contemporaries.
2006 J. Taber Poems for Rest of Us i. 36 Of Bunny, little of good can be said.
(b) Without of construction.In early uses of to say little, ‘little’ = ‘nothing’.to come to little, to count for little, to go for little, to set at little, to set (so) little, to set little to, to want little, etc.: see the verb. See also to have little to eat at eat v. 1c, little to the credit of at credit n. 7a(a), little in it at in prep. Phrases 2e, to know little and care less at know v. Phrases 23, that is saying little at say v.1 and int. Phrases 7f.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > be silent/refrain from speaking [verb (intransitive)]
to hold one's tonguec897
to keep one's tonguec897
to be (hold oneself) stilla1000
to say littleOE
to hold one's mouthc1175
to shut (also close) one's mouthc1175
to keep (one's) silence?c1225
to hold (also have, keep) one's peacea1275
stillc1330
peacec1395
mum1440
to say neither buff nor baff1481
to keep (also play) mum1532
to charm the tonguec1540
to have (also set, keep) a hatch before the door1546
hush1548
to play (at) mumbudgeta1564
not to say buff to a wolf's shadow1590
to keep a still tongue in one's head1729
to sing small1738
to sew up1785
let that fly stick in (or to) the wall1814
to say (also know) neither buff nor stye1824
to choke back1844
mumchance1854
to keep one's trap shut1899
to choke up1907
to belt up1949
to keep (or stay) shtum1958
shtum1958
OE Blickling Homilies 49 Þonne lære ic eow..þæt ge syllon eowre teoþan sceattas earmum mannum þe her for worlde lytel agan.
c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 20 (MED) Bituhhe muchel & lutel is in euch worldlich þing þe middel wei ȝuldene.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1730 Þe mon þe litul [c1300 Otho lutel] ah.
c1390 in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 525 Ȝif þou haue luytel, luitel ȝiue and do.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 1459 (MED) Now haf we or litel, now pas we mesur.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 780 Allas, þat euere so worþi of estate Schulde for lytel fallen at debate.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxxxix These wordes sore astonied sir Richard Weston, but he said litle.
c1580 tr. Bugbears iv. v, in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1897) 99 Lyttle sayd, sone amended.
1611 Bible (King James) Luke vii. 47 To whom litle is forgiuen, the same loueth litle. View more context for this quotation
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth ii. 7 It missed little but he had bene proscribed when he was dead.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 213 Like me, he came from little at first.
1794 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 754 Contented wi' little, and cantie wi' mair.
1835 tr. E.-A.-D. de Las Cases Life, Exile, & Conversat. Emperor Napoleon I. ii. 108 He was reading Don Quixote, which turned our conversation upon Spanish literature... He was very melancholy, and said little.
1869 J. Ruskin Queen of Air vii The myth of a simple and ignorant race must necessarily mean little, because a simple and ignorant race have little to mean.
1905 Daily Chron. 3 Oct. 4/5 ‘Mazy’ fish are soft and worthless, good for little but manure.
1936 W. H. Auden & C. Isherwood Ascent of F6 i. iii. 50 Drinks and eats little but is fond of crystallized apricots.
1998 P. E. Ceruzzi Hist. Mod. Computing viii. 251 These..offered little beyond simple data entry and viewing.
b. Modified by an adverb of degree.With or without of and a noun phrase.
(a) With an intensifier, esp. very (cf. sense Phrases 2d(b)).
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxxiii. 540 We witon swiðe litel [lOE Bodl. lytel] ðæs þe ær us wæs buton be gemynde and be geæscum.
lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) iii. 66 Gyf [ic] nanre wacran gewitnesse ne gelyfe, þonne wat ic swiðe lytel oððe nanwiht.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 465 For clerkes fliȝ þe travayle of þe queere,..and dede vikers in here stede þat hadde ful litel for to lyve by.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 5430 (MED) Þei þat werne of Troye..of his inward menynge fraudelent Ful litel wiste.
1524 tr. J. de Bourbon Begynnynge & Foundacyon Holy Hospytall sig. E.iv And than the trewes was broken and the shot of the enmyes was sharper than it was afore. And on the other syde nothynge or veray lytell for faute of powder.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. F4v Such as..haue either iust nothing, or else very little at all.
1649 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 12. 148 Gaining very little of experience.
1668 J. Beale Let. July in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1967) IV. 534 I see very little at all, If ye Air be gloomy.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 13. 96 My Ward has yet mighty little to say.
1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. 272 This small Lobster or Crab differs in very little from the European Souldjer or Hermit-Crab.
1773 W. Lewis tr. C. Neumann Chem. Wks. (ed. 2) II. 427 The spirit which distills has nothing, or exceedingly little, of its scent.
1811 C. Hutton Course of Math. (ed. 6) III. xiii. 275 We gain extremely little in the range by a great increase in the length of the gun.
1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales II. xxvi. 295 He was a tall lanikin figure.., and upon the whole appeared to be good for very little.
1927 Amer. Mercury Nov. p. xxx (advt.) There is very little in it that is new.
1963 G. Gould Let. 27 May in Sel. Lett. (1992) 72 The remarkable clarity of most of the playing—very little of it was of the overpedalled sort that I..had always associated with that generation.
2006 J. T. Costa Other Insect Societies xiii. 366 We still know exceedingly little about the extent of communal dwellers.
(b) With other adverbs, as in making comparisons and assessments, as too, but, so, rather, relatively, etc.
ΚΠ
OE Laws of Æðelred II (Nero) v. iii. 238 Ures hlafordes gerædnes & his witena is, þæt man Cristene men for ealles to lytlum to deaðe ne fordeme.
a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 62 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 163 (MED) Eiðer to lutel [Trin. Cambr. litel] & to muchel scal þunchen eft hom baþe.
a1300 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Jesus Oxf.) 12 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 58 Al to muchel ich habbe i-spend, to lutel i-leyd an horde.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Hunterian) f. 38 (MED) Simpel & pure fleische of þe whiche þer is founden but litel.
?a1425 (?a1350) T. Castleford Chron. (1940) l. 19779 (MED) So litel firste he had in hend, He failed tresor for to despende.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 466 Than she smote downe the hede and seyde but lytyll.
a1500 Walter of Henley's Husbandry (Sloane) (1890) 43 (MED) Ye geve noþer to moche ne to lytell.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. vii. sig. Iivv Though ye spent but lickell.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 63 As they neuer knew what goodnes meant, so they knowe as little of the contrarie.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost ii. i. 63 Much too little of that good I saw, Is my report to his great worthines. View more context for this quotation
1618 W. Raleigh Let. 21 Mar. (1999) 349 It pleased His Majestie to vallewe us at so little as to commaund me..to sett downe..the country and the very river by which I was to enter it.
1646 Bp. J. Hall Balme of Gilead 296 The old man knowes how little of his clew is left in the winding.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 187 So little of boundedness to winde up in.
1735 W. Pardon Dyche's New Gen. Eng. Dict. at Gripe To..give a Person too little for their Wages or Goods.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. viii. 71 Man wants but little here below, Nor wants that little long.
1798 J. Baillie Funeral Disc. Death of Papacy 28 The church of Scotland gave too much power to the people, and too little to the priesthood.
1812 Theatr. Inquisitor 1 273 The majority of readers..can tell you as little of the contents [of books] as those who carry the mail-bags can of the letters.
1825 T. Moore Mem. Life R. B. Sheridan I. viii. 367 The people, by the unanimous outcry with which they rose,..proved how little of the ‘vox Dei’ there may..be in such clamour.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xvi. 151 Too much of him longwise, too little of him broadwise.
1909 Hartford Seminary Rec. 19 213 These works..contain..rather little of what might be called scientific theology.
1933 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Cloud Howe iv. 267 The banker childe..drank but little, and that with suspicion.
1939 L. H. Gray Found. Lang. 322 Relatively little of Kuchaean is yet accessible.
1976 B. Ward Home of Man iii. xix. 185 They possess so little, gain so little, hope so little that they have not much more stake in the land they till than the stones that lie on it.
2007 Fiddlehead Winter 65 Built with the sweat of men who worked too hard for far too little.
c. Modified by a definite article, demonstrative, possessive, or other determiner.
(a) With restrictive relative clause or in a nominal relative clause.With or without of and a noun phrase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount
speckc725
littleOE
somethingc1200
lutewihtc1230
little whatc1384
ouncec1387
lap1393
smalla1400
modicumc1400
nekedc1400
spota1413
tinec1420
nieveful?a1425
handfulc1443
mouthful?c1450
smatchc1456
weec1480
quern1503
halfpennyworth1533
groatsworth1562
dram1566
shellful1578
trickle1580
snatch1592
sprinkling1594
fleck1598
snip1598
pittance1600
lick1603
fingerful1604
modicum1606
thimbleful1607
flash1614
dasha1616
pipa1616
pickle1629
drachm1635
cue1654
smack1693
starn1720
bit1753
kenning1787
minikin1787
tate1805
starnie1808
sprat1815
harl1821
skerrick1825
smallums1828
huckleberry1832
scrimp1840
thimble1841
smite1843
nattering1859
sensation1859
spurt1859
pauchlea1870
mention1891
sketch1894
sputterings1894
scrappet1901
titch1937
tad1940
skosh1959
smattering1973
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > only a little
litea1000
littleOE
smalla1393
OE Acct. Voy. Ohthere & Wulfstan in tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. i. 15 Þæt lytle þæt he erede he erede mid horsan.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xi. 260 Ac ic ne mæg adreohan þine seofunga for þam lytlan þe þu forlure.
c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 38 (MED) Þis lutle ich habbe iseid of þet ich iseh in heouene.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 463 Þilke lytel þat þey spake or wroughte.
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. sig. D.viv Oute of that litle that I haue red, I coulde somewhat saye to bryng hym to lighte agayne.
1601 A. Munday & H. Chettle Death Earle of Huntington sig. K4 I forgiue the King, with all my heart: With all the little of my liuing heart, That giues me leaue to say, I can forgiue.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 1000 If all I can will serve, That little which is left so to defend. View more context for this quotation
1675 L. Addison Present State Jews xxii. 197 Let it be thy will..that the little of my fat and bloud which is this day spent before thee, may be reckon'd with my fast.
1761 C. Hervey Let. 1 Sept. in Lett. from Portugal, Spain, Italy & Germany (1785) III. 399 I do not believe he would have attempted to save what little of the sherbet..was yet untainted.
1789 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 465 Go, live, poor wanderer of the wood and field, The bitter little that of life remains.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Dora in Poems (new ed.) II. 35 Dora stored what little she could save.
1854 S. Neil Elements of Rhetoric iv. 30 The differences which exist are only in the minor accidents of thought-expression—that little that is capricious or rule-free.
1887 Times (Weekly ed.) 1 July 13/1 The little..done for our coast defences during the last 20 years.
1921 A. K. Porter Sculpt. of West 9 The west portal (that is to say the little of it that is ancient).
1987 I. McEwan Child in Time iv. 84 Stephen resisted an urge to make himself important by telling everything of the little he knew.
2010 Church Times 15 Jan. 16/4 I am enjoying what little remains of my Christmas provisions.
(b) Without relative.See also every (also a) little ekes at eke v. 1a, every little helps at Phrases 4b.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 262 Nu do we þis lytle on ures lenctenes anginne, þæt we streowiað axan uppan ure heafda to geswutelunge þæt we sculon ure synna behreowsian.
1494 W. Hilton Scala Perfeccionis (de Worde) i. lxxxiv. sig. hiiv By this lityll thou maye see more yf thou loke well.
1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. *iiijv Other (perchaunce) with a proude snuffe will disdaine this litle.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iv. xlii. 325 This little may suffice touching the Bezaars stone.
1633 P. Fletcher Poeticall Misc. 71 in Purple Island My little fills my little-wishing minde.
1738 S. Johnson London 40 Ev'ry moment leaves my little less.
1845 W. Bridge Wks. II. 92 If you mourn over your little, and wait on God for more, then is your little an earnest of much.
1875 L. De la Ramé in R. Johnson Little Classics XI. 233 That little will be great enough to drive the invaders off the soil.
1913 Bankers Mag. Aug. 185/2 You think your ‘little’ is not worth saving.
1990 H. V. Hong & E. H. Hong tr. S. Kierkegaard Eighteen Uplifting Disc. (1992) 299 He does not even need..to know that this little is secure.
†2. In the genitive as the complement of an indefinite pronoun. Obsolete. little's what, what little's: little or nothing, a negligible quantity; (in quot. lOE1) trifles; cf. little what n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > hardly anything
what little'sOE
little's whatlOE
little or nothingc1450
next to nothing1596
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) viii. 243 We sceolon onscunian mid innweardre heortan þone ydelan gylp gif we hwæt lytles to gode gedoð.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 1070 Nam þa be nihte eall þet he mihte, þet wæron Cristesbec..& reafes & swilce litles hwat.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xi. 260 Hwa wæs æfre on þis andweardan life..þæt him nanwuht wið his willan ne sie, ne lytles ne miceles?
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6952 Forr þi þatt teȝȝ..Ȝet unnderrstodenn littless whatt Off all þe rihhte trowwþe.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4681 Forr þatt tu muȝhe winnenn her. Wiþþ sinne summ whatt littless.
c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Harl.) 400 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 505 Hit was what lutles þat he et.
II. As a count noun. Chiefly with a and used as a pronoun or adverb.
3.
a. With more positive emphasis: a small amount or quantity, a small piece or portion. Cf. sense B. 1.See also a very little at Phrases 2d.
(a) With of and a noun phrase or (in early use) †partitive genitive.Now chiefly where the noun phrase contains a determiner and hence the simple adjective (sense A. 12b) cannot be used.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxxiii. 229 Suelce hie ær lægen on longre medtrymnesse, & hie ðeah gewierpten, & eft cume an lytel febbres, & hie ofslea [L. sed leniter ueniens recidiua febris occidit].
eOE Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) iii. xli. 336 Nim..hwerhwette niþewearde an lytel.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4086 Þeȝȝ ummbeshærenn þeȝȝre shapp..A litell off þe fell aweȝȝ.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15026 Wið an luttel ȝeren þa uaderes dede weoren.
c1450 Med. Recipes (BL Add. 33996) in F. Heinrich Mittelengl. Medizinbuch (1896) 68 (MED) Do a lytul þer-of in þe sore eye.
a1475 Bk. Quinte Essence (1889) 21 (MED) Putte þerinne a litil of rubarbe or of summe oþer laxatiue.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Sam. xiv. 29 Se how lighte myne eyes are become, because I haue taisted a litle of this hony.
1577 J. Frampton tr. N. Monardes Three Bookes i. f. 18 In the salt Fleume, he shall put..a little of the water of Sublimatum.
1625 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron iii. ii. 113 Hee dranke a little of the wine.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 20 Every little share of time must have a little of this little reality.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 521. ⁋2 I had arrived at a particular Skill in warming a Man so far in his Narration, as to make him throw in a little of the Marvelous.
1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. i. 2 Architecture was perverted to meer house-building, where it retained not a litle of Vanbrugh.
1798 J. Wolcot Tales of Hoy in Wks. (1812) IV. 418 Not a bit of a Ballad..nor a little of a Tale to enliven the evening.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. xv. 312 Let me recommend a little of this pike!
1887 W. P. Frith Autobiogr. I. xxii. 318 In speaking, he had caught a little of the drawl affected in high life.
1922 A. Jekyll Kitchen Ess. 125 Cover it with more bread-crumbs, a little of its own liquor, [etc.].
1965 ‘H. Kuttner’ Time Axis xxiv. 133 If you can image a sharp tool made sentient, you may guess a little of how what followed seemed to us..the ultimate destruction.
2008 R. Moore & G. Owen My Word is my Bond (2009) vi. 133 Elvis told Dot how much he..hoped he might have just a little of the success she had achieved.
(b) Without of construction.
ΚΠ
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 84 Naked falleð in ðe funt-fat & cumeð ut al newe, Buten a litel—wat is tat? His muð is ȝet untrewe.
?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 156 Whan ȝe deliþ holibrede, ȝiue me botte a litil.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. ii. l. 188 Sothenesse seiȝ hym wel and seide but a litel.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 347 (MED) Cristis apostlis..helden hem paied on a litil, þat þe puple ȝaf hem redily.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 24v Lo how fortune..of a litill hath likyng a low for to kyndull.
1628 T. Spencer Art of Logick 146 I haue a little to say touching this fourth seate.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cccclxviii. 443 A Man may be Happy with a Little, and Miserable in Abundance.
1727 Coll. Epigrams cxxxiv 'Twas nature taught you this rare art, In such a little, much to shew.
1786 Mr. Norton Happy Family (1791) xi. 86 George and Henry did a little to the kite, that it might be ready to fly in the evening.
1845 D. Jerrold Hist. St. Giles & St. James xxiii. 124/2 When a man's being shaved, what a little will make him laugh.
1888 H. James Aspern Papers I. iii. 59 I wish I might think that I should bring you a little.
1930 N. Coward Private Lives ii. 39 Elyot. Would you like some brandy? Amanda. Just a little.
1970 I. Murdoch Fairly Honourable Defeat (1979) i. viii. 87 Out of so much, can we not salvage a little.
(c) In plural.With early examples, compare many a little makes a mickle at mickle pron. 4.
ΚΠ
1532 J. Fisher Two Fruytfull Serm. ii. sig. G.4 But we may nat accompt them as nought, for saint Austyn saith, though they be lytle, yet many lytels makyth a moche.
1592 S. Harward Solace Souldier & Saylour sig. E An oake is not fallen downe at the first stroake. Many littles make a mickle.
1615 J. Day Festivals 267 Contemne not these Littles, be they in truth never so little.
1633 J. Fosbroke Solomons Charitie 7 in Six Serm. Many littles given unto many..is better then much conferred upon one.
?1762 D. Bellamy New. Compl. Universal Eng. Dict. (ed. 2) at Newton (Sir Isaac) This manuscript contains the invention and calculation of fluxions, or infinite littles, which occasioned so great a contest between M. Leibnitz and him.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend I. ii. xiv. 293 A debt to pay off, by littles.
1892 Cambrian Nov. 343/1 I shall face some problem of life where I shall need capital of my own to solve it; and I will see if I cannot secure that by the accumulation of littles?
1965 M. Stonehouse John Wesley North & Reform Frontier 63 He would have to content himself with reforming his town and territory by littles.
1990 Pilot Sept. 59/1 All the littles have added up to a lot.
b. A short time or (less commonly) distance. Chiefly in after a little, for a little, in a little.‘A short distance’ is frequent in adverbial use: see sense B. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > a short or moderate space of time
weekeOE
littleOE
roomOE
stoundOE
startc1300
houra1350
furlong wayc1384
piecea1400
weea1400
speed whilec1400
hanlawhilea1500
snack1513
spirt?1550
snatch1563
fit1583
spurta1591
shortness1598
span1599
bit1653
thinking time1668
thinking-while1668
onwardling1674
way-bit1674
whilie1819
fillip1880
the world > space > distance > [noun] > a short distance
wurpc950
stepc1000
footc1300
furlong wayc1384
stone-casta1387
straw brede14..
tinec1420
weec1420
field-breadth1535
field-broad1535
pair of butts1545
straw-breadth1577
stone's throw1581
way-bit?1589
space1609
piece1612
littlea1616
spirt1670
a spit and a stride1676
hair's breadth1706
rope's length1777
biscuit throw1796
a whoop and a holler1815
biscuit toss1836
biscuit cast1843
stone-shot1847
pieceway1886
stone-put1896
pitch-and-putt1925
pieceways1932
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke xxii. 58 Et post pussillum alius uidens eum dixit et tu de illis es : & æfter lytlum uel ymb lytle huile oðer gesæh hine cuoeð & ðu of him uel ðæm arð.
OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 16 Nu ymbe alytel [c1200 Hatton an lytel] ge me ne geseoð & eft embe lytel ge me geseoþ.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John xvi. 16 A litil, and now ȝe schulen not se me.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 7047 Sone aftyrward, with-yn a lytyl was þere wryte anoþer tytyl.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 129v Lengys here at a litill lystyn my wordes.
1562 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 289 Alettell before we dede heare of matters myche nedfull & wourthie to be amended.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Pet. ii. 18 They allure..those that were cleane [margin. Or, for a little, or a while] escaped from them who liue in errour. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 267 For a little Follow, and doe me seruice. View more context for this quotation
1663 S. Pepys Diary 1 Sept. (1971) IV. 293 Up pretty betimes and after a little at my Viall, to my office.
1715 J. Fergusson tr. Rom. Conduct in quashing Catiline's Conspiracy 118 It would be a severe Pinch upon them to have their Shops shut up for a little.
1768 Monthly Rev. July 47 In a little we were told that dinner was served up.
1827 T. Carlyle tr. F. H. K. de La Motte Fouqué in German Romance I. 293 In a little, he and Froda left the inn.
1881 W. H. Mallock Romance 19th Cent. II. 290 Be here then and we will go for a little into the garden.
1936 ‘J. Tey’ Shilling for Candles ix. 100 Waiters like to take the weight off their feet for a little.
1995 S. Barry Only True Hist. Lizzie Finn i, in Plays: One (1997) 179 I don't like a person to put shame to me. (After a little.) My mother went barefoot all her life.
4. Used adverbially, with a. Cf. branch C.See also a very little at Phrases 2d.
a. To a small or slight extent; in a small degree; slightly, somewhat, rather. Also: †not very (obsolete).not a little: see not adv. 11c. to be a little upon the fal-lal: see fal-lal n. and adj. Phrases.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to a small extent or a little
littlec1175
a litec1290
a little quantityc1330
little whata1387
wee1513
a whit1526
thought1581
a wee bita1661
a small (also little) matter1690
a trifle1859
a wheen1869
a taste1894
smitch1895
a lick1902
mite1939
a skosh1959
a tidge1959
a tad1969
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase]
a great dealc1000
much dealc1225
on highc1400
little1483
good and proper1508
not smally1548
a deal1756
in a big way1840
more than somewhat1930
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8123 He..icchedd himm alitell upp.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. ii. 7 Thou hast maad him litil, a litil lesse fro aungelis.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 139 (MED) In þe ij day he openede a litil hise yȝen.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) i. ix. f. vj I was comforted nought a litel.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. ciiijv Here must I a litle digresse.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 28 An aunswere whiche pleased Ferardo but a little.
1606 G. W. tr. Epit. Liues Emperors in tr. Justinus Hist. sig. Gg j Although himselfe was of smal knowledge, and a little eloquent.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms ii. 12 When his wrath is kindled but a little . View more context for this quotation
1644 J. Vicars Jehovah-jireh 147 All the enemies Horse began to shogge a little.
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 187 I was a little afraid.
a1777 S. Foote Cozeners (1778) ii. 37 Shoulders back, Toby; and chest a little more out!
1821 W. Scott Pirate (1822) II. i. 10 With that he smiled a little, and they all laughed.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. xi. 190 A face only a little less bright than usual.
1903 H. James Ambassadors i. i. 4 He winced a little, truly, at the thought.
1964 J. Mitchell White Father iv. 85 Her muscles were a little too beefy for an off-the-shoulder dress.
2007 J. Glynn Seven Days Peter Crumb (2008) 56 He always offers something a little stronger, but I never accept.
b. For or in a short time; for or at a short distance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > [adverb] > a short distance
littlec1175
overby1680
shortly1908
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb]
short whilec897
littleOE
awhileOE
littlec1175
a litel wanc1200
a while1297
while?a1505
till soona1529
for a moment1593
for a moment1611
short1611
for a flash1625
momentally1646
momentarily1655
for a sudden1688
shortly1809
momently1827
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3467 Forr aȝȝ itt flæt upp i þe lifft Biforenn hemm a litell.
a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily In Die Sancto Pentecosten (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 93 Ȝe iherden a lutel er [OE Royal lytle ær] on þisse redunge þet ðe halie gast com ofer þa apostlas.
c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) l. 12 King charles..was born in seint denys, Nouȝt bote a litel fram parys.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14327 Forgeten has þou son þi lare þat i þe said a littel are.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 101 It rynnez into þe see a lytill fra þe citee.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lxvi. 227 Let me slepe a lytell lenger.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 803 He lukit ane lytill him fra.
1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Gen. xxii. 9) 173 Mount Moriah..was a little from Salem, as Mount Calvary also, was a little from Jerusalem.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1 A Little onward lend thy guiding hand To these dark steps, a little further on. View more context for this quotation
1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane i. i Yet, yet, a little and destructive Slaughter Shall rage around.
1794 W. Cowper Moralizer Corrected 21 In hope to bask a little yet.
1825 C. Waterton Wanderings in S. Amer. i. i. 107 The tree which thou passedst but a little ago.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 93 Comrades, leave me here a little, while as yet 'tis early morn.
1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xviii. 16 Chartism bubbled and sputtered a little yet in some of the provincial towns.
1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 239 He worked a little longer. He could feel her live beneath his hands; she was coming back.
1959 M. Shadbolt New Zealanders 32 A crude dance-floor erected for the night a little back from the beach.
1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 98 Freshen the nip, veer or haul slightly so that a rope may be moved a little.
1998 K. Desai Hullabaloo in Guava Orchard (1999) i. 8 Just wait a little, beta, wait and see.
III. As a noun in collective, generic, or abstract uses, corresponding to Branch A. I.
5. In plural or with plural agreement. (Small) children; (also) baby animals (rare). Cf. littling n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > child > [noun]
wenchelc890
childeOE
littleOE
littlingOE
hired-childc1275
smalla1300
brolla1325
innocentc1325
chickc1330
congeonc1330
impc1380
faunt1382
young onec1384
scionc1390
weea1400
birdc1405
chickenc1440
enfaunta1475
small boyc1475
whelp1483
burden1490
little one1509
brat?a1513
younkerkin1528
kitling1541
urchin1556
loneling1579
breed1586
budling1587
pledge?1587
ragazzo1591
simplicity1592
bantling1593
tadpole1594
two-year-old1594
bratcheta1600
lambkin1600
younker1601
dandling1611
buda1616
eyas-musketa1616
dovelinga1618
whelplinga1618
puppet1623
butter printa1625
chit1625
piggy1625
ninnyc1626
youngster1633
fairya1635
lap-child1655
chitterling1675
squeaker1676
cherub1680
kid1690
wean1692
kinchin1699
getlingc1700
totum17..
charity-child1723
small girl1734
poult1739
elfin1748
piggy-wiggy1766
piccaninny1774
suck-thumb18..
teeny1802
olive1803
sprout1813
stumpie1820
sexennarian1821
totty1822
toddle1825
toddles1828
poppet1830
brancher1833
toad1836
toddler1837
ankle-biter1840
yarkera1842
twopenny1844
weeny1844
tottykins1849
toddlekins1852
brattock1858
nipper1859
sprat1860
ninepins1862
angelet1868
tenas man1870
tad1877
tacker1885
chavvy1886
joey1887
toddleskin1890
thumb-sucker1891
littlie1893
peewee1894
tyke1894
che-ild1896
kiddo1896
mother's bairn1896
childling1903
kipper1905
pick1905
small1907
God forbid1909
preadolescent1909
subadolescent1914
toto1914
snookums1919
tweenie1919
problem child1920
squirt1924
trottie1924
tiddler1927
subteen1929
perisher1935
poopsie1937
pre-schooler1937
pre-teen1938
pre-teener1940
juvie1941
sprog1944
pikkie1945
subteenager1947
pre-teenager1948
pint-size1954
saucepan lid1960
rug rat1964
smallie1984
bosom-child-
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xv. 38 Quattuor milia hominum extra paruulos et mulieres : feor ðusendo monna buta lytlum & wifum.
lOE tr. R. d'Escures Sermo in Festis Sancte Marie Virginis in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 137 Ealla þa ilca heo dyde synderlice and furðerlucor þone ænig oðer, na on ænigen oðren lytlen, ac on þan sylfen Godes sunen.
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xvi. 16 (MED) Hij departed to her lytel [c1300 Trin. Dublin smale chyldern; L. parvulis] her iuel toknes.
Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 138 (MED) If a man sclaundrith oon of these litle that beleuen in me, [etc.].
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 182 Þe lordis to þo litill þe lyuys han grauntid.
1832 L. H. Sheridan Comic Offering 299 When I arrive here, the girls dears make me to see a cat and her littles. I cry—‘Oh the cat superbe, with her littles also!’
1870 W. Morris Let. 15 Mar. (1950) 33 I shall write to the littles in a day or two and try to find something pretty to send them: why haven't the little rascals written to me?
1904 Frank Leslie's Pop. Monthly Feb. 436 De one yo' sings to sleep at night An' cuddles on yo' bre's:—Yo' littles.
1987 G. Davenport Jules Verne Steam Balloon in H. Ziegler Facing Texts (1988) 124 He was a rat in the Pied Piper festival, he and scads of littles in brown and gray rat suits.
2002 N.Y. Mag. 25 Nov. 118 Volunteers..mentor children in schools and the juvenile-justice system or are assigned ‘littles’ to take on cultural, educational, and recreational outings.
6. With plural agreement. Chiefly with the. Those that are of low social status; unimportant people collectively. Also †in plural (obsolete rare). Often opposed to great.mickle and little, little and mickle: see mickle pron. 2. much and little: see much pron. and n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of little importance > collectively
littleOE
frya1577
small fry1652
potato1757
small beer1777
OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxiv. 6 Drihten gehealdeð dome þa lytlan.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8002 Forrþi let he cwellenn þa Þe miccle. & ec þe little.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) l. 383 Wo so him foleȝeð, he findeð sonde; Ðo arn ðe little, in leue laȝe; Ðe mikle ne maiȝ he to him draȝen.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6551 Þai fled a-wai,..Littel and mikel, less and mare.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. xiii The lytyle ryght ofte may lette and trouble the grete.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judith xiii. 13 They came all to mete her, litle & greate.
1615 A. Hoskins tr. Thomas à Kempis Following of Christ (new ed.) iii. ix. 173 Out of mee, as out of liuing fountaines, the little and the great, the poore and the rich, doe draw the water of life.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xvi. 16 The Great and the Little have Need one of Another.
1751 C. Lucas Polit. Constit. Great Brit. & N. Ireland I. xiii. 189 The same common Rule of Law and Right bind the Little and the Great, alike.
1827 Edinb. Rev. 46 359 It is the inevitable consequence of such lauding-bouts, that the little are exalted.
1841 E. Wright tr. J. de La Fontaine Fables I. iv. xxii. 170 As gay as larks, now eat your victuals.—They ate and slept—the great and littles.
1855 C. Sedgwick Let. 11 June in P. Godwin Biogr. W. C. Bryant (1883) II. xxix. 81 I got soon reconciled to this multitudinous assemblage of the great and the little.
1957 N. Cohn Pursuit of Millennium iv. 95 The war between ‘the great’ and ‘the little’..had scarcely ceased in the Low Countries since the days of Bertrand of Ray.
1995 K. A. González in L. Castillo-Speed Latina i. 103 This was the war between the Warriors and the Peasants... Of course, it was also the war between the Big and the Little.
7.
a. In plural. Small items, minor matters. Also: small objects.
ΚΠ
1619 F. Rous Arte of Happines v. 31 Hence are our Sciences, but many littles pieced together while the great body of truth & wisedome stands beyond our sight.
1665 T. Mall Cloud of Witnesses Pref. sig. A5v How willing were they to part with all for Christ? How unwilling are we to part with littles for Christ?
1725 T. Fuller Direct. Counsels & Cautions 153 Be punctual even in small Matters;..for failing in littles will bring thee to fail in greater.
1727 R. Erskine Gradual Conquest 48 I have mentioned many Particulars; but yet there is no Speaking of all the Littles that believers will experience.
1813 Freethinking Christian's Mag. 3 279 It is a proper discharge of all these littles that makes up the sum of moral worth.
1877 Educ. Jrnl. Virginia 8 553 Two things are requisite—the ability to economize time, and perseverance in accomplishing littles.
1919 Outlook 28 May 155/3 Woman's work is made up of little things, and these littles put together make the whole.
1966 M.Terry Ex-Miss Copper Queen on Set of Pills in A. H. Ballet Playwrights for Tomorrow I. 90 Pretty pills... There's red heart-shaped babies, and black and white clown tinys and long ball-shaped littles [etc.].
1999 N. Barr Blind Descent xvii. 259 There existed fragile hopes of finding a man with whom she could combine the littles of her life.
b. With singular and plural agreement. With the. That which is small or unimportant; the little qualities, characters, aspects, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small
littlea1800
a1800 W. Cowper Yardley-Oak in W. Hayley Life & Posthumous Writings Cowper (1804) III. 412 Comparing still The great and little of thy lot.
1806 P. Wakefield Domest. Recreat. vi. 80 The invention of man has not yet contrived glasses that comprehend either the vast or the little of nature.
1875 R. Browning Aristophanes' Apol. 330 Little and Bad exist, are natural.
1913 B. Sidis Psychol. of Laughter xi. 109 There is rapid kaleidoscopic change of the great and the little, of the low and the high.
1971 J. Updike in H. D. Thoreau Walden (2004) Introd. p. xiv The English writers of the seventeenth century..with their belief in correspondences between the little and the large, the inner world of self and the outer world of Nature.
2004 T. Campt Other Germans ii. 87 This focus on the little is an attempt to emphasize questions that we frequently overlook.
C. adv. Cf. sense B. 4.
1.
a. To only a small extent; in only a slight quantity or degree; slightly; not much; not very; (also) infrequently. Chiefly modifying verbs and comparative adjectives. N.E.D. (1903) says: ‘The use of the word to modify adjectives (= “not very”) seems to be a Latinism or Gallicism, and has never been common’; the first part of this statement has not been demonstrated.to fail little: see fail v. 8. it frames little see frame v. 1b. to wane too little: see wane v. 1.
(a) Without adverbial modification.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > to a small extent or slightly
lightlyeOE
liteOE
littleOE
a litec1290
smallc1300
softc1390
smally?a1425
slenderlya1513
hoverly1549
remissly1557
slender1581
not half1583
faintly1590
slightly1594
lankly1611
lowly1655
slight1671
nicely1698
weakly1775
sparingly1796
jimply1816
feebly1830
slightually1859
marginally1960
OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) viii. 6 Þu hine gedest lytle læssan þonne englas.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1125 He..bead þær þa ilce lagas þa Anselm ærcebiscop hæfde æror beboden & feala ma, þeah hit litel forstode.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3751 Þatt te birrþ..lætenn swiþe unorneliȝ & litell off þe sellfenn.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 29 Ouerweninge..litel prayzeþ his riȝtuolnesse.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 21 Luytel ys worthy þy prechynge Ȝef thow be of euyle lyuynge.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope ii. xvii Who that preyseth hym self lytyll he is ful wyse.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xvii Remembryng the olde prouerbe, loue me litle and loue me longe.
1586 G. Whetstone Eng. Myrror 121 Little forefeared he that God would make him the capitall offender of the Romish superstition.
1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 82 They..intermeddle litle in the ordinary gouernment of the state.
1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. iii. 101 The material being only Turf, and by the rude multitude unartificially built up.., avail'd them little.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 173 What would this Man? now upward will he soar, And little less than Angel would be more.
1767 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield (new ed.) I. iii. 28 He..found that such friends as benefits had gathered round him, were little estimable.
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 4 The most refined doctrines of this enlightened people were little more than a collection of vague speculations.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 161 A zeal little tempered by humanity or by common sense.
1876 W. E. Gladstone Homeric Synchronism 126 But this is little material.
1902 W. S. Maugham Mrs. Craddock viii. 82 She cared little what he spoke of, the mere sound of his voice was music in her ears.
1954 A. Huxley Doors of Perception 18 The ability to remember and to ‘think straight’ is little if at all reduced.
1981 P. Sykes Guidebk. to Mechanism in Org. Chem. (ed. 5) v. 123 The other was little affected even under much more vigorous conditions.
2010 Jewish Chron. 8 Oct. 28/2 A vocal genre that drew upon many elements but was little touched by opera.
(b) With adverbs, esp. of degree or making comparisons and assessments, as very, but, too, so, etc.
ΚΠ
lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) i. 27 Ic woð fol lytle ðe gearor hwilc seo sunne is, þeaht ic hyre elcæ dæge on locige.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15569 Ah he ful lutel [c1300 Otho lute] wuste what ilomp seoððe.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 515 Wel litel thynken ye vp on my wo.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 139 (MED) Þei loven to litil þe sheep.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 107 (MED) To haue be þe modyr of God, fful lytyl wend I.
1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. xlv What other thynge causeth the laye so litle to regarde there princes, as that they se them both dispised and disobeyed of the spiritualte?
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 199v He drof at hym with þe dart derit hym but litle.
1577 T. Vautrollier tr. M. Luther Comm. Epist. to Galathians (new ed.) f. 243 I feele not my selfe to haue any righteousnes, or at least wise, I feele it but very litle.
1629 F. Smyth Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 243 So one might sware to se how litel they estemed me.
1660 R. Coke Elements Power & Subjection 262 in Justice Vindicated So little avails the skilfulness of the Pilot.
1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 192. ⁋2 They liked us as little as they did one another.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xvi. i. 2 The Sentiments in all these are very little varied.
1795 C. Smith Montalbert III. xxxiii. 168 Rosalie..was never so little willing as now to make her acquaintance.
1848 R. Aughtie Diary 2 Sept. in B. Harley & J. Harley Gardener at Chatsworth (1992) 119 Went to bed very tired—slept very little, being very much annoyed by bugs.
1876 J. H. Newman Hist. Sketches II. ii. ii. 242 How little his personal troubles had damped his evangelical zeal.
1915 J. Turner Let. 15 July in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 17 Such chances come so little in a life-time.
1930 ‘E. Queen’ French Powder Myst. Pref. p. viii Djuna, The Queens' beloved scull, who appears far too little.
1982 S. K. Penman Sunne in Splendour (1984) i. iii. 28 Thomas..might have been a changeling, so little did he resemble his siblings.
2013 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 25 July e5/1 A so-called Hollywood waist..constricts the body as little as possible.
b. As an emphatic negative, usually before a finite verb, as in he little knows = ‘he is very far from knowing’. Chiefly with know, think, care, and verbs of similar meaning.
ΚΠ
OE Wulfstan Christian Life (Hatton) 200 Lytel fremað þeah cristen nama butan cristenum dædum.
a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 137 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 224 Litel wot he hwat is pine.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1834 (MED) Littel roght þam of his manance.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 269 (MED) His senatour has..In speche disspyszede me & sparede me lyttill.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 70 I litill wende to have mette with you.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxviiv They would littel thynk, that he would so vntrewly handle me.
1600 T. Floyd Picture of Perfit Common Wealth xvi. 96 His admonition would litle preuaile to gouerne them, when hee could not gouerne his owne house at home.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 86 They little know How dearly I abide that boast so vaine. View more context for this quotation
1748 L. Pilkington Mem. I. 188 Truly, I little car'd where I went.
1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 202 He little imagined of how much consequence it might be.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci v. iii. 97 Little cares for a smile or a tear, The clay-cold corpse upon the bier!
1866 J. M. Neale Sequences & Hymns 12 Ah! they little know the Puissance of the Cake of Barley Bread!
1907 G. W. E. Russell Seeing & Hearing v. 35 In those days I little thought of settling down in Oxbridge.
1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1958) i. i. 15 This brash young American little knew what sore places he was invading with his clumsy fingers.
2001 Muzik Jan. 67/2 Unassuming east Sussex lad Andy Dragazis little expected the dramatically positive reviews heaped upon this gem.
†2. (a) In a short time; shortly (before, after, etc.); (b) for (only) a short time, briefly; (c) for or at a short distance. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb]
short whilec897
littleOE
awhileOE
littlec1175
a litel wanc1200
a while1297
while?a1505
till soona1529
for a moment1593
for a moment1611
short1611
for a flash1625
momentally1646
momentarily1655
for a sudden1688
shortly1809
momently1827
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xxvi. 39 Progressus pusillum procidit in faciem suam : forðongeonde wæs uel gefoerde lytel ðona feoll on onsione his.
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John xiii. 33 Adhuc modicum uobiscum sum : ða get lyttel mið iuh ic am.
OE Cynewulf Elene 664 Ond nu lytle ær sægdest soðlice be þam sigebeame leodum þinum, ond nu on lige cyrrest.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 463 Alls i seȝȝde nu littlær.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) 877 Mi lauerd iesu crist..lutel er herto-foren me he haueð ilaðet.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1133 Loth wuned litel in segor, For he dredde him for to forfare ðor.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14188 Ne was þou noght bot littel gan Almast þar wit þe juus slan?
c1405 (?c1375–90) G. Chaucer Monk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 715 But litel out of Pize stant a tour.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. l. 2947 (MED) Pollydamas..gan to taken hede Amonge þe rengis litel hym be-side.
c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 549 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 23 Þe vilne..þat lytil befor tholit he Of thame namyt of galele.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies vii. x. 523 The Mexicaines by this meanes, remained much eased and content, but it lasted little.
1665 G. Havers tr. P. della Valle Trav. E. India xv. 213 A very great Earth-quake hapned in Naples..but it lasted little, and was very short.
a1751 Visct. Bolingbroke Lett. Study Hist. (1752) I. v. 155 Those [letters] that the Grecian colonies might bring into Sicily..spread little, or lasted little.
1828 A. Sherburne Mem. v. 127 It was but little before this, that Capt. O'Brien had been taken.
1888 C. M. Doughty Trav. Arabia Deserta I. xx. 559 And yet only little before they had lost all their camels.

Phrases

P1. Phrases of the adjective (and determiner).
a. For uses in prepositional phrases, as of no little account, to little avail, at little cost, to little effect, at (a) little expense, of little mark, of little moment, to little purpose, of little remark, for a little stound, of little valour, of little weight, of little weve, of little worth, etc., see generally the noun. For many other phrases see the most prominent or least variable element, usually a noun (as you little beauty, a little bird, my little cabbage, nice little earner, to have little right, to set little price upon, etc.), but sometimes a verb (as to set at little price, to shed little blood, I spy with my little eye, to stand little chance, to turn round one's little finger, etc.) . See also of a child little at child n. Phrases 3, person of little expense at expense n. 1a, ye gods and little fishes! at god n. and int. Phrases 4d, to make a long harvest for a little corn at harvest n. 3b, to come out at the little end of the horn at horn n. 2f, Land of Little Sticks n. at land n.1 Additions, the little man in the boat at man n.1 29, mother's little helper n. at mother n.1 Compounds 5b, the patter of little feet at patter n.2 2, poor little guy, poor little me at poor adj. and n.1 Compounds 1c, poor little rich boy, poor little rich girl at poor adj. and n.1 Compounds 1d, precious little at precious adv. 2, a little bit pregnant at pregnant adj.1 3c, little ray of sunshine n. at ray n.5 Phrases, little writ of right close at right n. Phrases 2b(d), St Luke's little summer, little summer of St Luke at St Luke n., the little end of the wedge at wedge n. 2b, etc.
b. little old: used as a familiar or mock-depreciatory mode of reference to a thing or (esp. followed by a pronoun or a name) a person or place.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial > of people or animals
slender1548
silly1567
little old1572
1572 J. Parinchef tr. Extracte of Examples, Apothegmes, & Hist. 45 Yet couldest thou neuer, for shedding this little olde bloude of mine, cause me to call him an enimie.
1616 B. Jonson Poëtaster (rev. ed.) i. ii, in Wks. I. 282 Captaine, I shall take my leaue of you?.. No, my little old boy [1602 my little knight Errant].
1870 J. J. McCloskey & O. D. Byron Across Continent in L. Grover et al. Davy Crockett & Other Plays (1940) 78 All I want is my little old six square meals a day, nine schooners of beer,..and a plate of ice cream.
1872 C. King Mountaineering in Sierra Nevada x. 219 If I design to paint a head, or a foot, or an arm, I get my little old Sarah Jane to peel the particular charm, and just whack her in on the canvas.
1887 Punch 30 July 37/1 He remembers his pardner in Frisco—Yes, he don't forgit little old Me!
1905 ‘O. Henry’ in N.Y. World Mag. 12 Nov. 8/1 Money talks. But you may think that the conversation of a little old ten-dollar bill in New York would be nothing more than a whisper.
1907 F. H. Burnett Shuttle xxiii. 225 She thought there was nothing like little old England.
1966 J. Potts Footsteps on Stairs (1967) xiv. 177 Why couldn't I have been looking out for little old me?
1973 Guardian 12 Mar. 9/1 It was three or four years before I got a little old machine of my own.
1999 W. L. Heat Moon River Horse vii. 206 Are we providing enough entertainment for you in little old New Haven?
†c. depreciative little God almighty: (in anti-Catholic writing) the consecrated host at the Eucharist. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1581 J. Nicholls Pilgrimage sig. L5 But I pray you tell me, did hee make little God Almighty, and eate him also then.
1628 H. Burton Seuen Vials 57 All their falling down at the tinkling of the bell, when their little God almighty is solemnely caryed abroad.
1687 H. Pendlebury Plain Representation Transubstant. Publ. to Rdr. sig. A3v A bold and profane Mouse, that it seems had sallied out and seized on the little God Almighty.
d. to laugh like little Audrey: to laugh heartily, especially at a serious situation (compare earlier Little Audrey joke n. at Compounds 1d).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > laugh [verb (intransitive)] > heartily, esp. at something serious
to laugh like little Audrey1939
1936 Illinois Technograph Apr. 20/3 Little Audrey and her mother went to Ethiopia last month. While they were there an Italian Bomb hit Audrey's mother on the head. But little Audrey just laughed and laughed 'cause she knew that Italian Balm was good for the skin.]
1939 C. Morley Kitty Foyle xiv. 143 She laughs like Little Audrey.
1972 J. Aiken Butterfly Picnic ix. 165 If I choose to..laugh like little Audrey when I'm all knotted up..who the hell's got the right to forbid me?
2011 K. Chatzidaki Michelle xxx. 186 Yes indeed, Your Grace, you will be laughing like little Audrey at my joke, and for a very long time at that!
P2. Phrases of the pronoun and noun.
a. In adverbial phrases, chiefly with repetition of little, with the sense ‘by small degrees, a little at a time, gradually’.The usual modern form is little by little.
(a) a little and a little, †a little and little.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [phrase] > gradually or in stages
footmealeOE
(a, by) lite and litec1290
a little and a littlea1375
little and littlea1387
(by) some and some1398
by little and by littlea1425
little by little?a1425
littly?a1425
inchmeal1530
by small and small1558
by (a) little1577
gradatim1583
by lithe and lithe1592
by inchesa1616
inch by incha1616
to go slow1664
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 950 (MED) I wol a litel and litel laskit in hast.
1483 tr. Adam of Eynsham Reuelation iv. f. 7v Hys spyrite beganne a lytyll and a lytill to come ageyne.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxx This great tumult & sodain fury, was..a litle and litle appeased and finally quenched.
1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. ii. xix. f. 75 The companie of faithfull began a litle and litle to encrease againe.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 157 My Ink..I eek'd out with Water a little and a little, till it was so pale.
1950 R. Moody Little Britches xxi. 171 Billy could run so much faster than old Nig that we kept turning a little and a little, till we were headed right into the passenger car at the end of the train.
1976 Ebony Jr! Oct. 35/1 The plane moved a little and a little but the sound got loud and big and high like singing.
(b) little and little. Cf. litlum and litlum at litlum adv. Now literary.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [phrase] > gradually or in stages
footmealeOE
(a, by) lite and litec1290
a little and a littlea1375
little and littlea1387
(by) some and some1398
by little and by littlea1425
little by little?a1425
littly?a1425
inchmeal1530
by small and small1558
by (a) little1577
gradatim1583
by lithe and lithe1592
by inchesa1616
inch by incha1616
to go slow1664
OE Ælfric 2nd Let. to Wulfstan (Junius) in B. Fehr Die Hirtenbriefe Ælfrics (1914) 172 Do swa lytlum and lytlum, oþ þæt se clað sy asoht.]
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 135 (MED) But alle þese sees, outake York, faillede litell and litel.
?c1430 (?1383) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 302 Litel and litel þei may gete al þe rewme into here owene hondis.
c1450 tr. Secreta Secret. (Royal) 33 He may not leve it attones, but litille and litille.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cxv. 138 And soo lytell and lytell, the dethe of Jaques Dartuell was forgoten.
1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China 294 They shoulde haue a special care vnto their healthes, in trauelling not too fast but little and little.
1642 H. Hexham Duties Horseman 4 in Princ. Art Mil. (ed. 2) i Now to bring his horse to this, and to learne him to turne and wheele with dexteritie, he must often vse him to ride the ring, first with a greater circumference, and then litle and litle by lesser degrees, as first vpon his pace, then vpon his trot, and so to the gallop and Careere.
1697 Athenian Mercury 28 May Drink suddenly runneth and penetrateth the Body, and all the parts thereof..but Meat doth Insinuate but little and little, and after many Concoctions it changeth.
1876 A. Trollope Prime Minister III. vii. 108 I know what men are at when they talk of pulling through, Mrs. Lopez. There shouldn't be no need of pulling through. It should all come just of its own accord,—little and little; but safe.
1891 F. Tennyson Daphne 261 Ah! better far Had the first sadness frozen more and more, Little and little, till her heart had ceased.
1923 C. M. Doughty Mansoul (rev. ed.) 55 When little and little ralented was our course. We a mighty Land beheld.
(c) by (a) little and (a) little, (archaic) by little and by little.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [phrase] > gradually or in stages
footmealeOE
(a, by) lite and litec1290
a little and a littlea1375
little and littlea1387
(by) some and some1398
by little and by littlea1425
little by little?a1425
littly?a1425
inchmeal1530
by small and small1558
by (a) little1577
gradatim1583
by lithe and lithe1592
by inchesa1616
inch by incha1616
to go slow1664
a1425 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Cambr. Add. 4325) C. xvii. f. 61v And lere hem by lytul and alytul [v.rr. littelum and littelum, litel and litel, litel and bi litel]..Tyl þei couþe speke and spele.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 358 (MED) Crist wole teche his disciplis bi litil and litil alle þes.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) v. i. f. lxxxviij Alwey it decrecyd by a litel and a litel.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 243 (MED) Hit sholde not be sodaynly chaungid, that wyche is custoumet, but slowly by lytill and by litill.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. cxijv And so by a litle and litle, the Englishmen recouered again many tounes.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 112/2 in Chron. I By what wyles and craft he might by little and little settle here, and obteine a kingdome in the Ile.
1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xxiii. 30 By little and little I will driue them out from before thee, vntill thou be increased and inherit the land. View more context for this quotation
1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 88 He fell off from me by degrees, by a little and a little vnwedging himselfe from mee.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 94 Custome of Profane Scoffing in Holy Matters; which doth, by little and little, deface the Reuerence of Religion.
1682 J. Dryden Religio Laici Pref. sig. a2v Their Descendants lost by little and little the Primitive and Purer Rites.
1774 O. Goldsmith Grecian Hist. I. viii. 321 Both fleets arrived by little and little.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 105 Add, by little and little, as much pearl-ash..as it will take up.
1829 W. Sweetser Diss. Intemperance 85 Where the taste and feelings are gratified daily by a little and a little, the associations which bind to the habit are maintained.
1872 C. H. Spurgeon Metrop. Tabernacle Pulpit XVII. 644 By little and by little he introduces them into the glory of his kingdom.
1885 J. Ruskin Præterita I. vii. 243 All this we knew by little and little.
1934 J. R. Barrows U-bet xxvi. 179 Our round-up had ‘by little and little’ grown to respectable size.
1965 Rev. Metaphysics 19 135 Aristotle's Theory of Antiperistatic Motion: Bodies going through a fluid communicate their motion (momentum) to the ambient fluid by little and little.
1985 A. Lamott Joe Jones vii. 96 According to St. Paul it is by little and by little we are saved, or fall.
1993 J. Banville Ghosts 34 Collating, imbricating, advancing by a little and a little.
(d) little by little.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [phrase] > gradually or in stages
footmealeOE
(a, by) lite and litec1290
a little and a littlea1375
little and littlea1387
(by) some and some1398
by little and by littlea1425
little by little?a1425
littly?a1425
inchmeal1530
by small and small1558
by (a) little1577
gradatim1583
by lithe and lithe1592
by inchesa1616
inch by incha1616
to go slow1664
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 41 After gradately, i. litel bi litel, to soupyng of farinam of fabez.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 74v Lytill be lytill, diuisim, paulatim.
1586 D. Rowland tr. H. de Mendoza Pleasant Hist. Lazarillo (1672) ii. Q 2 Weak and dead for hunger, I went little by little up the street.
a1643 Visct. Falkland Of Infallibilitie Church of Rome (1645) 16 How things little by little may have been received under old names, which would not have beene so at once under new ones.
1760 E. Nihell Treat. Art Midwifery ii. 414 Little by little the truth will come out.
1766 tr. V. de Mezague Gen. View Eng. 22 The farmers..have been obliged little by little to lower the rents.
1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. IV. viii. xxv. 410 We are forced, little by little, to turn liberalists.
1892 B. F. Westcott Gospel of Life 272 Little by little, the revelation of Christ's Nature was made through the events of His intercourse with men.
1931 M. E. Waller Windmill on Dune i. 58 Little by little I taught him all my swimming tricks.
1997 W. Dalrymple From Holy Mountain (1998) iii. 137 Little by little the merchant raised his offer.
†(e) by (a) little. Cf. by litlum at litlum adv. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [phrase] > gradually or in stages
footmealeOE
(a, by) lite and litec1290
a little and a littlea1375
little and littlea1387
(by) some and some1398
by little and by littlea1425
little by little?a1425
littly?a1425
inchmeal1530
by small and small1558
by (a) little1577
gradatim1583
by lithe and lithe1592
by inchesa1616
inch by incha1616
to go slow1664
c1450 (?c1425) St. Mary of Oignies i. vi, in Anglia (1885) 8 139 (MED) Hee þat rekkiþ not smale thinges falliþ doune by litlum.]
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Bp. Eusebius in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. viii. xxx. 172 Our affayres beganne by a litle and as it were by stelth, to growe vnto some quiet staye.
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Ep. Ded. §4 Young birdes..by little first proue theyr tender wyngs.
a1645 W. Browne tr. M. Le Roy Hist. Polexander (1647) iv. i. 178 That melancholy waxing away by little.
1764 Ann. Reg. 1763 ii. 106 Sift..more of the same sand by little upon it.
1814 J. Galt tr. C. Goldoni Love, Honor, & Interest i. i, in New Brit. Theatre III. 263 Soon by little he began to droop.
†b. little me (also him, etc.) is of: I care (he cares, etc.) little for. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 224 (MED) Lutel me is of ower luue.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) l. 117 Litel him is of hise limes, bute he lif holde.
†c. into (right) little: very nearly. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adverb] > almost or nearly
nigheOE
well-nigheOE
forneanc1000
well-nearc1175
almostc1261
nighwhatc1300
nearhandc1350
nigh handa1375
nigh handsa1375
as good asc1390
into (right) littlea1413
unto litea1420
nigh byc1430
nearbyc1485
near handsa1500
as near as1517
mosta1538
next door1542
wellmost1548
all but1590
anewst1590
uneath1590
next to1611
nearlya1616
thereaboutsa1616
welly1615
thereabout1664
within (an) ames-ace ofa1670
anear1675
pretty much1682
three parts1711
newsta1728
only not1779
partly1781
in all but name1824
just about1836
nentes1854
near1855
nar1859
just1860
not-quite1870
nearabouta1878
effectively1884
nigh on1887
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 884 For which we han so sorwed he and I That in-to litel boþe it hadde vs slawe.
a1500 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 170 (MED) The costes into lytyll trewly at þe fulle Ys as myche as yt were maad of þe fyne woll.
c1540 Lady Bryan in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. App. lxxi. 173 It wil be (in to right little) as great Profit to the Kings Grace this way, as the t'other way.
d. a very little.For premodification by very compare sense B. 1b(a).
(a) As adverbial phrase: to a very small or slight extent; for or in a very short time; for or at a very short distance. Compare sense B. 4.
ΚΠ
?1536 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Ryght Frutefull Epyst. Prayse of Matrymony sig. C.iii He is but a very lytle of, from the prayse of virgynite, whyche kepeth purely the law of wedlocke, and whyche hath a wyfe to the entent to beget chylderne, and nat to satysfy hys wanton luste.
1547 C. Langton Very Brefe Treat. Phisick ii. vi, sig. H.ivv For summe tyme, whan it [sc. the nose] hathe bled but a verye litell, it must be staied incontinent.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια x. xxi. 770 If they both mooue, either they keepe the head steddy.., or else do draw it backward a very little.
a1672 P. Skippon in F. Willughby Bk. of Games (2003) 108 When it meetes with any opposition of the ground or wall it lyes almost still & rebounds but a very little.
1709 Tatler No. 75. ⁋9 Jenny's only Imperfection is an Admiration of her Parts, which inclines her to be a little, but a very little, sluttish.
1743 R. Pococke Descr. East I. l. 8 The pillar is well preserved, except that it has scaled away a very little to the south.
1771 T. Smollett To Dr. Lewis in Humphry Clinker III. 39 A very little above its source..stands the house of Cameron.
1815 M. Elphinstone Acct. Kingdom Caubul Introd. 79 A fillet, formed by stones projecting a very little from the wall.
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 52 A very little inclining to the clumsy.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iii. ii. 17 The steamer's lights moved spectrally a very little.
1876 Methodist Visitor 5 139 (heading) Only a very little too late!
1915 C. Johnson Highways & Byways New Eng. (1916) 195 I felt his teeth graze my leg. I gorry! if he'd been a very little nigher he'd have got me!
1947 J. B. Cabell Let me Lie Prol. vii. 16 They are fighting..at a great number of other places with the pronunciation of which all ‘news commentators’ are fighting but a very little less bravely.
1991 R. Rendell Kissing Gunner's Daughter (1992) xii. 147 Joyce Virson preened herself a very little.
(b) As noun phrase: a very small amount or quantity, a very small piece or portion; a very short time or distance. Compare sense B. 3. Frequently with of and a noun phrase.
ΚΠ
1548 R. Crowley Confut. Mishapen Aunswer sig. A.viii The best counsayle that I can geue you now, is to make haste and recante. For so shall you yet saue some parte of your honestie though it be but a verie little.
1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount i. f. 32 The thirtenth is, that it killeth all wormes in mannes bodie, if a man rubbe his nosestrelles, or drinke a verie litle of it.
1566 T. Heskyns Parl. Chryste ii. lxii. f. ccxviiv Forsomoch as I haue passed so neare to our time, I will with thy pacience (gentle reader) go on, vntil I bring the within a verie litle of this our time.
1660 J. Evelyn Let. 17 Feb. in Diary & Corr. (1852) (modernized text) III. 129 [They] might be made to have their circles as orderly as those which we find in Brasile, Ebene, &c., which, within a very little, concentre by reason of the uniform course of the Sun about them.
1716 Free-holder 21 May A very venerable Matron, with a Nose and Chin, that were within a very little of touching one another.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 157 My Ink..had been gone..all but a very little, which I eek'd out with Water.
1728 E. Smith Compl. Housewife (ed. 2) 12 Put it into the Stew-pan again with a very little of the Liquor it was boiled in.
1790 W. Nicholson tr. A.-F. de Fourcroy Elements Nat. Hist. & Chem. (new ed.) II. xix. 489 A very little of that salt is sufficient to dissolve again the whole of the copper separated from the sulphuric acid.
1857 Victoria (Austral.) Parl. Papers III. No. 48. 41 Those men live upon a very little; they go begging about.
1882 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 124 253 A very little of a resinous-looking mineral could be seen.
1939 D. Thomas Let. 14 Sept. (1987) 411 I personally know nothing of any foreign language except a very little about the sanitary-towel of the gardener's wife & a few Welsh dirty words.
1991 O. Clarke Webster's Wine Guide 1992 64/2 A very little, up to five per cent, of this headily perfumed grape often goes into the Sauternes blend.
e. within little of: within a short distance or time of; close to (a place, time, quantity, state, or doing or being something). Now literary and rare.
ΚΠ
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. ix Landed for a purpose at the pyle of Fowdrey within lytle of Lancastre.
1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. ii. xviii. §1. 311 S. Hierome made this argumente within litle of twelue hundred yeeres paste.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 1005 The selfe same night within litle of midnight,..sodainly they heard a maruelous sweete harmonie of sundrie sortes of instrumentes of musicke.
1606 Will of Edm. Withypoll in Extracts Wills from Reg. Prerogative Court (Stowe 784) (a1778) III. f. 29 To my wife Eliz. for her dower..all my land in Walthamstowe & Leyt...wch is wthin little of CC mrc by the yere.
1643 R. Vines Let. 1 Dec. in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1865) 4th Ser. VII. 344 The bench could not presently determine the case according to Mr. Jenners desire, who would not stay for an end of it till the morrow morneing, the tryall being within little of night.
1700 S. Pepys Let. 13 June in Memoirs (1828) V. 331 I am sated with the world, and am within little of being prevailed upon..to bid so fair an adieu to it, as to [etc.].
1725 tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote I. i. i. 42/2 He was within little of takeing his..Departure for the other World.
1823 Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1819 12 App. ii. 227/2 The income of the British and Foreign Bible Society..was within little of a hundred thousand pounds.
1829 T. Smith tr. G. de Villehardouin Chron. Conquest Constantinople 42 The army..was within little of utter ruin.
1884 in Sel. Judgments & Rulings Court of Judicial Commissioner & of Special Court Lower Burma 1871–1892 (1907) 293 Such a wound that it must have been within little of causing death.
1892 tr. G. Perrot & C. Chipiez Hist. Art in Persia iv. 253 The atesh-gah has had to make itself smaller, and descend to within little of the ground level.
1905 tr. T. Gautier Mademoiselle de Maupin Pref. p. vi He pushes chaste susceptibility as far as anthropophagy, or to within little of it.
f. in little: on a small scale; in a small space; (originally Painting) in miniature. Now literary.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [phrase] > on a small scale
in little1604
in parvo1676
in miniature1700
in small1765
in pettoa1846
small-scale1852
in diminutive-
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to subject > [adverb] > in miniature
in little1604
in small1611
in miniature1700
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 367 [They] giue twenty, fortie, fifty, an hundred duckets a peece, for his Picture in little.
1609 W. Shakespeare Louers Complaint in Sonnets sig. K3 On his visage was in little drawne, What largenesse thinkes in parradise was sawne.
1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 7 I shall endeavour to limme her soule in little (since in great neither my time, nor ability will let me).
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 105 The Temple was an imitation in little of that at Ephesus.
1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. Pref. 61 This autority was at first exercised in little by those, who [etc.].
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting II. iii. 100 Sir Kenelm Digby..compares Vandyck and Hoskins, and says the latter pleased the most, by painting in little.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 19 A miniature of loveliness, all grace Summ'd up and closed in little.
1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country ii. 137 By Boulevard friendships tempted to come taste How Paris lived again in little there.
1953 K. M. Briggs Personnel of Fairyland Gloss. 205 The glaistig..is a spirit of mixed characteristics, and seems, indeed, to be all fairies in little.
1974 Country Life 28 Nov. 1675/2 Sculptures in little.
2010 D. Noyes Captivity ii. xl. 286 A glittering tray of tiny crystal figures, nymphs and unicorns. (The world in little has grown large of late..).
†g. in a little: in a few words, briefly. Obsolete.See also sense B. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > [adverb] > in short
at a (also one) wordOE
at few wordsOE
shortly1303
in short wordsc1380
oncec1384
in short and plainc1386
in sum?a1425
at short wordsa1450
at short1513
briefly?1521
in a word1522
in one word1522
with a word1522
summa1535
to be short1544
in (the) fine1545
in few1550
summarily1567
in a sum1574
in shorta1577
in brief1609
briefa1616
in a little1623
tout court1747
sans phrase1808
in a nutshell1822
in nuce1854
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. i. 12 But pray how past it?.. Ile tell you in a little.
1645 H. Prime Compassionate Christ Pref. sig. A3v This Treatise tells us in a little, how the Kingdome of heaven is laid in the small, but sure beginnings of Gospell bruisings.
†h. a little of the ——est: rather ——. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice iv. 44 Which fault onely proceedes from tramelling a horse somewhat too early vnder the knee, and making his tramels for want of true measure a little of the straitest.
1653 D. Osborne Lett. to Sir W. Temple (2002) 183 The ring..is very well only a little of the biggest.
1703 Athenian Oracle I. 305/2 The Ephesian Matron of t'other side was a little of the longest, though she..was very much in Haste when she once set about the Business.
1745 C. Coffey Devil upon Two Sticks i. vii. 35 Methinks your Hood is a little of the thinest,—I'll go and fetch you one that's somewhat thicker, the better to conceal you.
1805 W. Turton Goldsmith's Hist. Earth & Animated Nature II. xi. 184 The croup is a little of the longest, and the tail is generally set high.
1833 C. F. Adams Diary 7 June (1974) V. 102 My share..being a little of the smallest.
1848 W. T. Thompson Major Jones's Sketches Trav. 19 When I got to my horse, I felt like a feller jest out of a hornet's nest; and I reckon I went home a little of the quickest.
P3. Conjoined with a negative pronoun or determiner for emphasis.
a. little or (also other) naught (also nought): = little or nothing at Phrases 3d; formerly also as †adverbial phrase. Now archaic.
ΚΠ
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6480 Her iss litell oþerr nohht. I þiss land off þatt sallfe.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 49 Þat tu of ðese lihte litel oðer naht ne ȝesikst.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 33 Huanne þe man nele do þet me him zayþ ine penonce..oþer yef he hit onderuangþ, he hit deþ oþer litel oþer naȝt.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 148 Unsensible wordis of Goddis Sone..þei trowen litil or nouȝt.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 417 (MED) The peple cowde not espye Lytel or nouȝt of his intent.
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 193 Ȝif a preste breke þe hestis of god men chargen þat litel or nouȝt.
1443 in J. Robertson Illustr. Topogr. & Antiq. Aberdeen & Banff (1862) IV. 43 Noght agayn standing as we ar infourmyt yhe haf done litle or noght [etc.].
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) v. l. 4317 He was curyousse in his stille,..Mad in metyr meit his dyte, Litil or noucht neuir þe lesse Wauerande fra þe suythtfastnes.
1504 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Jan. 1504 §28. m. 22 Theves and other pikars..byyng such stolen vessell unto theym in such hyde places to sell, and it sell for litill or nought.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxxxviiv/2 Right so lytel or naught is worthe erthely power.
1631 F. Lenton Characterismi xv, sig. D He hath fisht till hee hath fild his bagge, then sits downe to fil's belly, and lends little or naught to the distressed.
1634 W. Lathum Phyala Lachrymarum in Rev. Eng. Stud. (1932) 42 How little differing life is from death, how little or nought at all death is from sleepe.
1712 F. Bragge Witchcraft Farther Display'd 7 She..had many Returns of these Fits 'till this Time, eating little or nought, and often vomited crooked Pins.
1803 Scots Mag. Apr. 233/2 Our Lords of Session..this twelvemonth have done little or nought.
1839 Haileybury Observer 14 Oct. 14 The other cared little or naught for the Graces.
1869 Packard's Monthly Apr. 122/1 By purling brook, or 'neath stormy wave, It matters little or naught to me.
1918 Farm Jrnl. Sept. 30/2 His going meant little or naught.
2001 R. W. Hoyle Pilgrimage of Grace x. 294 Aske was very much in control, with Darcy, the archbishop, and the others counting for little or nought.
b. little or none.
†(a) As adjectival phrase: hardly any ——; = little or no —— at Phrases 3c. In later use chiefly before vowels or h (compare none adj.). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1400 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 443 (MED) Private almes..dos littel gode or none to donor of siche almes.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 16 Holi Writt ȝeueth litil or noon liȝt therto at al.
1478 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1478/6/81 Throu the quhilk thare is litle or nane alde moneye..gangande.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 136 (MED) Into the land of Irlande he arryuete, and lytill or noone esploit dit.
1583 M. M. S. tr. B. de las Casas Spanish Colonie sig. A4v The Indians of that Ile had litle or none industrie or practise to gather or drawe golde out of the mines.
1666 J. Faireclough Let. 5 May in V. Greatrakes Brief Acct. 73 His hand had little or none effect upon the Lady that first brought me to him.
1805 M. Wood Hist. Eng. lvii. 193 Gustavus..prosecuted the war vigorously by sea and land against Russia, but, owing to her superiority of force, with little or none effect.
a1847 J. W. Dallam Deaf Spy (1848) xii. 72/2 They beheld their missiles fall around their foes with little or none effect.
(b) As pronominal phrase: hardly anything or any (of), only a very small quantity or portion (of).
ΚΠ
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 1129 Off purwiaunce thai fand litill or nane.
1648 L. P. Strange-Predictions Catericke 8 For Ammunition he could finde little or none.
1710 W. Salmon Botanologia I. cccxlv. 490/1 A Root..which sends up some few Leaves,..yet when Planted in Gardens has little or none at all.
1773 Monthly Rev. Nov. 411 A common, tame chalybeate, containing little or none of that spirit which distinguishes the Pyrmont.
a1823 J. Ewart Jrnl. Stay Cape Good Hope (1970) 32 Little or none of the country has as yet been explored.
1874 S. F. Baird et al. N. Amer. Birds III. 48 Colors ashy-gray and pure white, with little or none of fulvous.
1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind ii. viii. 145 Already the foundries were beginning to feel the lack of iron, for little or none came through the blockade.
1992 P. O'Brian Truelove i. 30 It was a quiet meal, with little or none of the shouting and banging of mess-kids that usually greeted the Sunday plum-duff and the grog.
(c) As adverbial phrase, followed by the (the adv. 1) and comparative: in hardly any way, to hardly any extent. Compare none adv. 1b.
ΚΠ
1810 Philos. Mag. 35 11 Instances often occur, of men being stifled by the azotic gas, who were little or none the worse from the effects of the explosion.
1826 Oriental Herald Oct. 148 They have either absorbed or dissipated them, leaving the world little or none the better.
1872 S. Butler Erewhon xx. 184 Some doubtless received damage..; but many seemed little or none the worse, and some almost the better.
1918 T. Teakle Spirit Lake Massacre xxii. 177 By the time the expedition arrived..he had awakened and appeared to be little or none the worse for his unusual experience.
1997 Museums Jrnl. May 22/3 The uninformed visitor will leave little or none the wiser about Rachman.
c. little or no ——: hardly any ——.
ΚΠ
1538 R. Pole in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. App. lxxxiii. 208 You say, I make many plagues, but lay little or no salve to heal them.
1613 A. Standish New Direct. 3 Within a very few years there wil be little or no wood left for any vse.
1699 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. (ed. 4) §167. 300 All his Bustle and Pother will be to little or no purpose.
1757 Philos. Trans. 1756 (Royal Soc.) 49 489 Each of these injections was retained with little or no inconvenience.
1792 W. Cowper in Speaker (new ed.) vii. xxxv. 328 Luckless brains, That..Indite much metre with much pains, And little or no meaning.
a1859 T. De Quincey Posthumous Wks. (1893) II. 154 If the non-culture of the human race allowed them to break out into war with little or no preparation.
1907 Daily Chron. 31 Dec. 3/4 The ‘Terries’ will be made to feel that there is little or no difference between them and the Tommies.
1944 Fortune Mar. 263/1 There has been little or no jerry-building.
2008 U. McGovern Lost Crafts (2009) 358 Sperm whale teeth, baleen and whalebone were of little or no commercial value.
d. little or nothing: (a) hardly at all (now somewhat archaic); (b) hardly anything (of), only a very small quantity (of).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > hardly anything
what little'sOE
little's whatlOE
little or nothingc1450
next to nothing1596
c1450 tr. G. Boccaccio De Claris Mulieribus (1924) l. 106 Al-thow they lytell or no thynge In their own personys haue doon of prevytesse..ȝitt were they cause of many grete dedesse.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 141 Simple and vndiscreete persons should haue the voyce, and the worshipfull men little or nothing regarded.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 118 Their daunces were..matronelyke, mouing scarce little or nothing in their gestures at all.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 281 The idle drones that haue little or nothing to do but eate and drinke.
a1618 W. Raleigh Judicious Ess. & Observ. (1650) sig. E2 Of the amends recovered, Little or nothing returns to those that had suffered the wrong.
a1630 F. Moryson in Shakespeare's Europe (1903) i. viii. 149 A Countesse..litle or nothing respected..in the Church, where she could hardly gett a seate.
1669 N. Fairfax Let. 4 Feb. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1968) V. 376 Ye spirits spend little or nothing even in hot & busy bodys..wn they ar shott & recoile, or go & come.
1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 124 A Creature..which the People there call a Rattle-Mouse, tho' it has Little or Nothing of the Likeness of any Kind of Mouse seen in Europe.
1792 A. Young Trav. France 411 These small occupations are a real loss of labour;..people are fed upon them, whose time is worth little or nothing.
1845 G. L. Craik Sketches Hist. Lit. & Learning Eng. IV. 88 There is little or nothing..of poetry or picturesqueness in Feltham's writing.
1881 Med. Temp. Jrnl. 49 31 We know little or nothing about the truth.
1918 Fortn. Rev. 1 Apr. 105/2 In his attitude towards fundamental Christian teaching such a young man differs little or nothing from three-fourths of all who call themselves Protestants.
1955 A. J. P. Taylor Bismarck viii. 199 He knew little or nothing of contemporary German life.
2002 Voice 4 Nov. 16/2 In the midst of our plenty there are people who have little or nothing.
P4. In various proverbial uses.
a. a little (——) goes a long way.
ΚΠ
1827 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 510/1 A little gentleness of manner goes a long way with such children as we were all then.
1828 Missionary Herald (Boston) June 187/1 They received a little weekly aid (and a little, in an industrious and thrifty family, goes a long way,) from the public store.
1872 S. Hale Lett. (1918) 84 I get fearfully tired, and a very little Abbey goes a long way with me.
1910 E. M. Forster Howards End xxiv. 201 Dolly's a good little woman..but a little of her goes a long way.
1951 J. Masters Nightrunners of Bengal i. i. 3 A little of Caroline Langford went a long way.
2003 Caribbean World Winter 65/1 This recipe..is ridiculously rich... a little goes a long way.
b. every little helps.
ΚΠ
1742 ‘G. A. P. Briton’ Some Impartial Thoughts Woollen Manufacturies 44 He gives us the following Causes of the Decay of the Woollen Trade... 2. From the Importation of Russia ‘Drabs’. To obviate which he would lay a high Duty on that Manufacture. Thus every Little helps to puzzle the Matter.
1750 Midwife No. 5 193 Every little helps (as the old Woman said when she did something in the Sea).
1791 J. O'Keeffe Wild Oats v. iii. 64 It is'n't much, but every little helps.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xiii. 90 It's a very old saying, that every little helps.
1873 ‘M. Twain’ in ‘M. Twain’ & C. D. Warner Gilded Age xxiv. 226 Every little helps, you know.
1936 ‘G. Orwell’ Let. 14 Feb. in Coll. Ess. (1968) I. 163 I expect I can either review it or get it reviewed... Not that that gives one much of a boost, but every little helps.
1967 V. Canning Python Project iv. 63 Carry on. Every little helps. You might turn up something.
2012 T. Leahy Managem. in 10 Words iv. 131 Our internal value of ‘No one tries harder for customers’ is explained through the idea of ‘Every Little Helps’.
c. little things please little minds (and variants): used to suggest that people who find pleasure in trivial or childish things are unintelligent or foolish. [Compare classical Latin parva leves capiunt animos ‘small things enthral light minds’ (Ovid Ars Amatoria 1. 159), and also Hellenistic Greek αἰεὶ τοῖς μικκοῖς μικκὰ διδοῦσι θεοί ‘the gods always give small things to the small’ (Callimachus Fragments 47).]
ΚΠ
1584 J. Lyly Sapho & Phao ii. iv. sig. C4v Litle things catch light mindes.]
1832 W. Martin Let. 25 Jan. in Defeat of Learned Humbugs 29 Some silly creatures stamped and rapped as if you had done something very clever, but ‘little things pleases little minds’.
1879 V. Durrant Saul Weir I. xxxv. 371 Little things please little minds; and these gloves set the girls tittering.
1910 S. S. Smith Dean Smith v. 162 The mind which is strung to the highest issues is always capable of the greatest relaxation, therefore it is not true to say that little things please little minds.
1989 S. Eldred-Grigg Siren Celia ii. 41 It appears a trifling matter to build happiness upon, but as you know, little things amuse little minds.
2011 Times-News (Burlington, N. Carolina) 22 May (Accent section) d6/1 When I showed enthusiasm for something that we were doing, she stated ‘Little things please little minds’.
d. too little, too late and variants: used to convey that an action, measure, etc., is inadequate and has been instigated after the most beneficial moment.
ΚΠ
1847 Morning Post 13 Nov. 6/1 As to the relief supplied by the timid Government, they think it too little and too late.
1881 Engin. & Mining Jrnl. 12 Nov. 319/1 It [sc. Congress] gives too little too late; and it prevents..the efficient and economical use of that late little.
1896 Med. News 1 Feb. 131/1 The usual complaint is that the ambulance-surgeon does too little too late.
1943 Life 2 Aug. 91/1 The haunting cry of ‘too little, too late’ which tragically prefaced the fall of Greece.
1984 M. W. Nicholas Change in Context of Group Therapy iii. 48 Creative..responses that fall flat because they are inadequate—too little, too late.
2005 Independent 18 Jan. 3/2 For many Mozambicans..a Japanese donation last week of 25,000 durable Olyset mosquito nets to fight malaria is too little too late.
e. a little knowledge is a dangerous thing: see knowledge n. Phrases 5b. a little pot is soon hot: see pot n.1 Phrases 4. as sure as God made little apples: see apple n. Phrases 6. birds in their little nests agree: see agree v. Phrases 3b.every (also a) little ekes: see eke v. 1a. great (also much) cry and little wool: see cry n. Phrases 1. great (also big, mickle) head, little wit: see head n.1 Phrases 5b. great oaks from little acorns grow: see acorn n. 2c. in little meddling (also business) lies much rest: see rest n.1 Phrases 7. little pitchers have big ears: see pitcher n.1 Phrases 1. many a little makes a mickle: see mickle pron. 4.

Compounds

C1. Compounds of the adjective.
a. Coupled with a near-synonymous adjective, for emphasis.
(a) Preceding the other adjective. Esp. in little tiny. Also reduplicated little little.little bitty: see quots. at bitty adj. 2. little wee: see wee adj. a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > extremely small
tinea1400
little weea1525
undersmall?1527
little little1542
perpusil1598
tiny1598
punctual1605
minute1606
pygmya1616
exiguous1630
atomical1646
minutulous1651
puncticular1658
arenulous1664
myriate1665
minimal1666
minim1671
infinitesimal1733
minutissim1768
weeny1790
midgety1798
teeny1802
pinpoint1807
atomic1809
homuncular1822
minnow1824
weeshy1825
pinhead1835
finitesimal1836
homoeopathic1838
teeny-weeny1842
teenty1844
teenty-taunty1844
teeny-tiny1849
submolecular1854
teensy1856
super-compact1860
midget1865
ultramicroscopic1870
pilulous1871
teensy-weensy1872
tee-tiny1872
minuscule1878
smitchy1888
eeny-weeny1894
eensy-weensy1904
pygmean1904
ultramicroscopical1904
bitsy1905
bitty1905
totty1906
millimetric1909
miniscule1909
minuscular1911
insectual1912
micro1931
eeny1933
eensy1940
submicrogram1941
submillimetre1954
diddy1963
mini1963
micro-mini1967
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 46 (MED) Putte a litil smal [L. parua & subtilis] tent in þe eende of þe wounde.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 507 (MED) Scho had layd in his lape a litill tyne egg.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 189 When he..sawe there a litle litle herthe, & in the same a litle preatie small fyer, he saied [etc.].
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. iii. 152 And my large kingdome for a little graue, A little little graue, an obscure graue. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 v. i. 24 Any pretty little tinie Kick-shawes. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ ii. xxv. 48 As soon a little little Ant Shall bib the Ocean dry.
1703 J. Tomkins Trumpet Sounded 68 Away with your Barbicude Hogs, and Merry Meetings, and your little small things.
1742 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 427/1 The smirking Damsel..happen'd to have Charms sufficient to tempt the little-tiny Manhood of Mr. Pope into the next Room with her.
1800 H. Hunter tr. J. Saurin Serm. VI. ii. viii. 192 One of those animals, striving to move over an immense space in a little, little hour.
1834 Christmas Improvem. iii. 40 Such a little tiny weeny pill can never cure such a great big headache as I have got.
1917 F. R. Bellamy Balance xi. 154 In Sammy's mind there is a little tiny feeling of revolt.
1972 P. O'Brian Post Captain vi. 196 Come, drink up your wine—admirable stuff for a little small shebeen—and we will have another bottle.
2006 D. Arnoult Sufficient Grace 118 A little little handprint... That little caramel-colored hand the size of a dime there on Rachel's side.
(b) Following the other adjective. Esp. in tiny little.wee little: see wee adj. a.
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1685 S. Collins Systeme Anat. I. 675 Their various Cylinders, making up fine Compages, beset with divers minute little bottles of Juice.
1714 G. Lockhart Mem. Affairs Scotl. 101 A Petty little Family in the Shire of Air, the Representatives of which, until his Father's time never designed the Laird, but always the Goodman of Kelburn.
1844 Dublin Univ. Mag. June 743 What microscopic little beasts!
1864 T. Trollope Lindisf. Chase II. viii. xxiv. 146 She mused at one moment on a whole brainful of minute little projects for [etc.].
1883 Househ. Words 5 May 7/1 I have tried to..give the place a tiny little look of home.
1948 ‘R. Crompton’ Family Roundabout xiv. 148 They've no eyes for anything but the petty little details of their petty little lives.
1951 D. Thomas Let. 16 Jan. (1987) 784 In the children's wards, I saw rows and rows of tiny little Persian children suffering from starvation.
1967 B. Cleary Mitch & Amy iv. 81 If only you would stop for a minute so I could catch up... Just one teeny little weeny little minute.
1980 Hindustan Times (New Delhi) 11 Nov. 9/2 The British have reverted to what they basically are—a small little people with small little minds, inhabiting a small little island in the Atlantic.
1990 W. Denver Tombstone Showdown xiv. 132 It is only a very few short little miles.
b. Parasynthetic compounds of the adjective (determiner).See also little-beautied at beautied adj. 1.
little-footed adj.
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1781 St. James's Chron. 28 Aug. 4/4 The Exultation of Perdita is not more visible than the little-footed M—ld—n's Dejection.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 29 She fulmined out her scorn of laws Salique And little-footed China.
1911 K. D. Wiggin Mother Carey's Chickens xxxv. 346 Are you engaged to be married to a little-footed China doll, or anything like that?
2007 J. Newman Fictions of Amer. ii. 51 The twenty-fourth day of the eighth lunar month, the festival of the Little-Footed Miss.
little-headed adj.
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1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. i. 122 Two sorry little-headed Nephews.
1767 J. Hill Veg. Syst. XI. 21 (heading) Little-headed poppy.
1840 B. H. Smart Walker's Crit. Pronouncing Dict. Microcephalous, little-headed, applied to the beryx, [a] fossil fish.
1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song ii. iii. 126 They came, full of bubble and squeak—something very little-headed about people when they'd won money.
2012 Augusta (Georgia) Chron. (Nexis) 1 Aug. b3 There are big- and little-headed hoes.
little-statured adj.
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1691 R. Baxter Certainty Worlds of Spirits vi. 133 We have in this County,..some Subterranean Spirits,..little Statured, about half a yard long.
1702 London Gaz. No. 3774/4 Went away from his Mother.., James Bristow, aged about 17 years, little Statured.
1722 J. Jones tr. Oppian Halieuticks v. 190 That little-statur'd Men of vig'rous Soul Should all the World by Wisdom's Force control.
1870 Huddersfield Chron. 4 June 6/6 As she approached a ‘little statured man’..jumped up.
1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. I. ii. 61 Light sleds,..which draw forth little-statured steeds.
2009 Union Leader (Manchester, New Hampsh.) (Nexis) 8 May Little-known, little-statured Jonathan Diaz, a 5-foot-8 infielder.
c. In the names of plants and animals.
little auk n. a small, short-billed auk, Alle alle, having black plumage with white underparts, breeding in the Arctic; also called dovekie.
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1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. 137 The little Auk. Little black and white diver.
1843 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Birds III. 358 The Little Auk, or Common Rotche,..is only a winter visiter to the British Islands.
1928 W. B. Alexander Birds of Ocean x. 251 Dovekie or Little Auk (Alle alle).
2009 Nature 23 July 439/1 They integrated microclimate data with the physiological and behavioural qualities of..little auks (Alle alle).
little bluestem n. a tufted grass, Schizachyrium scoparium, having blue-tinged leaves and stems, native to the prairies of North America.
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1889 Proc. 10th Ann. Meeting Soc. Promotion Agric. Sci. (U.S.) 18 ‘Bunch Grass’ or ‘Little Bluestem’.
1959 Jrnl. Range Managem. 12 122/3 Under some conditions clipping little bluestem increased the number of shoots.
2013 Chicago Daily Herald (Nexis) 22 Mar. 10 The..Sustainable Backyards program offers rebates for the purchase of native plants such as purple corn flower and little bluestem.
little chief hare n. [after Chipewyan bek'ódheri gah yaze] North American the American pika, Ochotona princeps.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) > [noun] > ochotona princeps (pika)
pika1827
little chief hare1828
piping hare1877
rock rabbit1962
1828 Zool. Jrnl. 3 520 Lepus (Lagomys) Princeps... The Little-chief Hare, tail-less, blackish-brown on the back, yellowish brown on the sides, gray beneath.
1947 V. H. Cahalane Mammals N. Amer. 581 Some imaginative naturalist has given the animal the title of ‘little chief hare’.
2005 F. B. Linderman Big Jinny xi. 117 The last sounds I heard before going to sleep were the sorrowful cries of a lonely pika, or little-chief hare.
little egret n. a small white heron, Egretta garzetta, found throughout the Old World.Following a period of scarcity in Europe, this bird has recently recolonized the British Isles. Some egrets formerly placed in this species have been raised to full species.
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1785 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds III. i. 90 Little Egret... Size of a Fowl: length near a foot: weight one pound.
1908 R. Lydekker Sportsman's Brit. Bird Bk. 248 Of the little egret..sixteen individuals appear to have been recorded from the British Islands during the last century.
2010 Independent 22 July 13/5 A number of bird species have moved in [to Britain], including the little egret in 1996 and the cattle egret in 2008.
Little Gem n. (a) a variety of dwarf, wrinkled pea (now chiefly historical); (b) a variety of small, compact lettuce of the cos type, with crisp, deep green leaves.
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1866 Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1865 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 29 McLean's ‘Little Gem’ pea, a dwarf, prolific, green wrinkled marrow pea, is a great acquisition.
1917 Times 8 Dec. 11/5 Commodore Nutt and Little Gem are good early lettuces.
1934 D. N. Shoemaker & E. J. Delwiche Descr. Principal Amer. Varieties Garden Peas (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 27/1 Little Gem was produced by Dr. McLean, of Colchester, England, and was introduced by Turner, an English seedsman, in 1862.
1956 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) Suppl. 130/2 Little Gem. The earliest, most compact and crisp Cos.
2005 Olive July 60/1 Leave the iceberg lettuce on the shelf; English little gem makes the perfect crisp base for prawn cocktail.
little grebe n. any of several small Old World grebes of the genus Tachybaptus, with a short neck and bill and a trilling call; esp. the widespread T. ruficollis (also called dabchick).
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1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. 133 The little Grebe.
1848 Zoologist 6 2290 The little grebe or ‘dipper’ or ‘dobber’ or ‘Tom pudding’.
1930 A. Reischek Yesterdays in Maoriland (1933) 22 Paradise duck, grey duck, little grebe, and other water dwellers were enjoying life.
2010 Independent 26 May 9/1 The extinction of the Alaotra grebe... A handsome bird not dissimilar to our own little grebe or dabchick, it inhabited a tiny area in the east of Madagascar.
† little king n. [after post-classical Latin regulus wren (see regulus n.); compare French roitelet (15th cent. in Middle French as roytellet in this sense)] Obsolete the Eurasian (or winter) wren, Troglodytes troglodytes; (occasionally also) the European robin, Erithacus rubecula.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Troglodytidae > genus Troglodytes > species troglodytes (wren)
wrenc725
little kingc1450
Our Lady's hena1529
jenny wren1648
regulus1678
tope1813
staga1825
kitty1825
feather-poke1831
robin1837
robin redbreasta1873
jenny1881
St. Kilda wren1884
c1450 tr. Secreta Secret. (Royal) 35 (MED) Rebelle as a litille kyng, obeyshaunt as a pecok.
1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. Maison Rustique (rev. ed.) vii. lii. 719 (heading) Of the King of birds, or the little King, otherwise called Robin-Redbreast.
1823 New Monthly Mag. 7 236 The little king bird In his green holly bower..—Heart-cankered be they who frown on the Wren!
little owl n. a small owl with speckled plumage, Athene noctua, found widely in Eurasia and North Africa.This owl has been introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand.
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1539 Bible (Great) Deut. xiv. f. lxvv/2 Of all cleane byrdes ye shal eate: but these are they of whych ye shall not eate:..the sparow hawk after her kynde, the litle oule, ye great oule, [etc.].
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. ii. 105 The little Owl. Noctua. The Bird we described of this kind we bought in the Market at Vienna in Austria.
1758 G. Edwards Gleanings Nat. Hist. I. xviii. 39/1 The Little Owl. This was about the size of the Missel Bird, or Greater Thrush.
1827 Synopsis Contents Brit. Mus. (ed. 25) 73 The nocturnal birds of prey of this order, consist of the snowy owl.., the short-eared, and the little owl, or cheveche.
1920 Harper's Mag. Dec. 37/1 In the orchards near the ruined village, the little owl shrieked demoniacally.
2009 J. Struthers Red Sky at Night 48 The little owl can often be seen perching on branches or telegraph poles during the day.
little penguin n. a small penguin, Eudyptula minor, of southern Australia and New Zealand, with a dark blue head, upperparts, and flippers (more fully little blue penguin); also called blue penguin, fairy penguin.
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1809 W. Bullock Compan. Liverpool Mus. (ed. 7) 42 Little Penguin, (Aptenodytes Minor). Inhabits New Zealand.
1902 Libr. Nat. Hist. 4 2321 The jackass penguin is in the habit of nesting in burrows..and the same is also not unfrequently the case with the little blue penguin.
1950 Sci. News-Let. 4 Feb. 78/2 There are more than a dozen species of penguins, ranging from the larger Emperor and King Penguins down to the foot high Little Penguins.
2005 C. Tudge Secret Life Trees Pref. 3 In New Zealand little blue penguins nest in the forest at night with ground parrots.
d. See also belt n.1 6, black book n. 6, Brodrick n. a, brother n. 9, cassino n., covenant n. 7d, dragon n.1 Additions, entrance n. 2d, Fauntleroy n., George n. 1b, grey cells n. at grey adj. and n. Compounds 1c(a), lion n. 7, logical adj. 6, madam n. 4c, number n. 7, Osage n. 1a, perisher n. 3, ray n.5 Phrases, Rhody n., sheer n.2 1, shilling n. 2d, stranger n. 4b, tick n.1 1b, tin n. Compounds 1b, Witham n., etc.; also little-ease n., little league n., little sister n., and other headwords.
Little American n. now chiefly historical an opponent of an international role or policy for the United States.
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society > authority > rule or government > politics > American politics > [noun] > principles or policies > adherents or supporters of
well-born1629
liberty boy1766
federalist1787
anti1788
Fed1788
monocrat1792
anti-federal1805
blue light1814
dough face1820
colonizationist1823
slavite1831
hunker1849
states' righter1861
slavist1889
Little American1899
New Frontiersman1923
America Firster1927
new federalist1969
angry white male1991
angry white man1993
AWM1994
1899 D. Caffery in Congress. Rec. 6 Jan. 432/2 When Washington besought his countrymen to avoid all foreign complications and entanglements was he a little American?
1919 W. E. Borah in Congress. Rec. 19 Nov. 8783/1 Those of us who have stood against this proposition have been taunted many times with being little Americans.
1975 R. H. Ferrell in H. H. Quint & M. Cantor Men, Women, & Issues in Amer. Hist. II. ix. 178 If the people of the United States listened to the anti-imperialists, the Little Americans of the day, and the nation withdrew from the islands, what would history say?
2008 B. Kauffman Ain't my Amer. i. 32 The dire warnings of Little Americans that expansion, conquest, and what was soon to be called manifest destiny will be the ruin of us yet.
Little Americanism n. now chiefly historical opposition to an international role or policy for the United States.
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society > authority > rule or government > politics > American politics > [noun] > principles or policies
federalism1787
state rights1787
colonizationism1831
hunkerism1845
Reconstructionism1881
Little Americanism1898
Point Four1949
fairness doctrine1952
new frontier1961
Great Society1964
eleventh commandment1966
Nixon Doctrine1969
1898 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 3 Nov. 10 For every dollar put up by France or Germany, we must put up two and who shall insure us against England? A sturdy belief in this as fundamental truth is no sign of ‘little Americanism’.
1922 Standard (Amer. Ethical Union) Feb. 171/2 The slough of isolation and ‘little Americanism’ in which our politicians wallowed.
1993 E. Breisach Amer. Progressive Hist. iii. xiii.151 He [sc. Charles Beard] tried to avoid the connotations of isolationism by using the term Little Americanism.
Little Audrey joke n. [compare to laugh like little Audrey at Phrases 1d] a joke featuring a character ‘Little Audrey’, who is said in the punchline to ‘laugh and laugh’, and usually involving a pun, double entendre, or unpleasant irony (see quots.).
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1934 Oak Park (Illinois) Leaves 22 Mar. 35/2 Beginning this week we are going to hold a Little Audrey joke contest... And now we present number one: Little Audrey's father tried to convince little Audrey the other day that he was French, but little Audrey just laughed and laughed, because she knew that her daddy had a lot of Scotch in him.
1941 Virginia Spectator May 10/2 The reason there are no more Little Audrey jokes is because she went out into the kitchen and Kelvinator.
1944 View Dec. 137/3 The war occasionally turns up a good item in the news, like the recent little Audrey joke: ‘It seems this marine had been discharged and returned to his home town. Here he was again classified and called for induction. But he just laughed and laughed. Why did he just laugh and laugh? Because he had been blinded at Guadalcanal and couldn't serve anyway.’
1976 Times 1 Apr. 17/7 In 1938-39, when I was at preparatory school, there was a craze for ‘Little Audrey’ jokes. These always ended: ‘Little Audrey laughed and laughed and laughed, for she knew very well..’.
2008 R. White Little Audrey ii. 18 That's what always happens in Little Audrey jokes. She gets into these hopeless situations, and still she finds something to laugh about.
little black dress n. a simple black one-piece garment regarded as an important item of a woman's wardrobe, suitable for wearing at most kinds of relatively formal social engagement; cf. earlier little black frock n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > types of > for specific purpose > other
ball-dress1710
presentation dress1836
party frock1858
tea-gown1878
semi-evening gown1891
little black frock1898
cocktail dress1921
cocktail frock1926
little black dress1928
practice dress1934
1928 Times 5 Nov. 17/5 For the afternoon there are simple little black dresses with frilled and draped skirts.
1951 Woman & Beauty May 1/2 Invest your all in one good little black dress.
1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 19 Little black dress. This highly useful garment was at first almost the trademark of the British designer, Molyneux, who perfected it as an ‘after 6’ look in the cocktail party era between 1920 and 1939. The ultimate in sophistication then, it is still much in demand.
2010 Ebony Feb. 127 Peek-a-boo lace updates the little black dress.
little black frock n. = little black dress n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > types of > for specific purpose > other
ball-dress1710
presentation dress1836
party frock1858
tea-gown1878
semi-evening gown1891
little black frock1898
cocktail dress1921
cocktail frock1926
little black dress1928
practice dress1934
1898 Manch. Weekly Times 19 Aug. If I lived in such a place as Northtowers for a continuance, I would buy a little black frock, and when that was worn out I would buy another little black frock, and when that was done with I would build another on the same pattern.
1902 H. James Wings of Dove xviii. 427 She might fairly have been dressed tonight in the little black frock..that Milly had laid aside.
1990 F. Weldon Darcy's Utopia 17 As Eleanor Darcy I can go anywhere: it's like a little black frock: you can dress it up with diamonds, dress it down with a cotton scarf: it always looks right.
little death n. [compare French petite mort] a state or event resembling or prefiguring death; a weakening or loss of consciousness, spec. in sleep or during an orgasm.
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the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > unconsciousness > [noun] > suspension of consciousness
ligation1598
little death1598
ligature1728
suspended animation1795
petite mort1891
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > orgasm > weakness or brief loss of consciousness during
little death1598
1598 F. Rous Thule ii. sig. N3v A little death it [sc. music] is, which vp doth send Our soules to heauen, before we make our end.
1605 Bp. J. Hall Medit. & Vowes (new ed.) II. §8 Euery sicknes is a little death, I will bee content to die oft, that I may die once well.
1647 S. Rutherford Christ Dying 148 This was neer two hundred stripes, every one of them was a little death.
1786 R. Robinson 16 Disc. 427 A little cold is a little death, a little more chills us to clay, and fits us for the grave.
1842 A. Beale Poems 135 Each parting seems a little death.
1885 J. Ingelow Sleep of Sigismund in Poems 150 What is sleep?—a little death Coming after.
1932 A. Huxley Brave New World v. 89 The sexophones..moaned in the alto and tenor registers as though the little death were upon them.
1959 W. Golding Free Fall v. 108 The little death shared or self-inflicted was neither irrelevant nor sinful.
1973 D. Bagley Tightrope Men i. 9 That everyday miracle of the reintegration of the psyche after the little death of sleep.
2009 A. Sohn Prospect Park West 361 How could he think that her mild five-second eruptions had been real compared to this ecstatic and unbridled, seemingly endless little death?
Little Dog n. Astronomy (with the) (the English name of) the constellation Canis Minor; (also) †the brightest star in this constellation, Procyon (obsolete).Now chiefly as a conscious translation.
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1555 L. Digges Prognostication Right Good Effect sig. Biij What Meteoroscoper, yea who lernyd in maters astronomical, notith not the great effectes at the rising of the ster called the Litell dogge?
1754 J. Hill Urania at Canis Minor The Little Dog is mentioned by all the writers on astronomy, and is one of the forty-eight old constellations.
1830 G. Darley Familiar Astron. iv. 81 That star is called Procyon; and is the principal of a small Constellation round it, entitled the Little Dog.
1919 Pop. Sci. Monthly Mar. 73/1 The bright star next in line, if we trace from Polaris through Gemini, is Procyon of Canis Minor, the Little Dog.
2007 F. Schaaf 50 Best Sights Astron. 93 Canis Minor, the Little Dog, contains the bright star Procyon and not much else.
Little Easter Sunday n. somewhat rare the Sunday after Easter, Low Sunday.
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1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall ii. f. 137v Vpon little Easter Sunday, the Freeholders..did there assemble.
1936 A. R. Wright & T. E. Lones Brit. Cal. Customs: Eng. I. 123 The first Sunday after Easter is usually called Low Sunday and sometimes Little Easter Sunday, Quasimodo Sunday, and White Sunday.
little emperor n. depreciative (in China) an indulged or spoilt only child; (later also more generally) any spoilt child.In China, frequently seen as a consequence of the government's family planning policy (introduced in 1979) of restricting most families to one child only. [After Chinese xiǎohuángdì spoilt child (1983 or earlier; earlier as a derogatory term for petty or illegitimate leaders and also in sense ‘child emperor’; < xiǎo small + huángdì emperor).]
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1986 Hutchinson (Kansas) News 27 Jan. 2/3 In Peking parks, parents and grandparents are often spotted..fawning in a way that has earned only children the nickname ‘xiao huangdi’ or ‘the little emperor’.
1992 W. Jankowiak in B. S. Hewlett Father-Child Relations xvi. 360 The popular Chinese press and magazines are filled with stories of urban parents complaining that their child has become a ‘little emperor’ who is spoiled and no longer listens to them.
2013 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 2 Nov. 28 That tiresome, unnaturally loud voice a certain breed of parent tends to use when trailing their loathsome little emperors..round John Lewis on a Saturday morning.
little end n. (in a piston engine) = small end n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > piston > parts of
small end1846
little end1868
skirt1913
1868 Trans. Inst. Civil Engineers Ireland 8 16 At the end of the piston rod and the little end of the connecting rod the force F is decomposed into two, one along the..connecting rod..and the other at right angles to the piston rod.
1880 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 5 Dec. 314/1 The ‘big end’ of the connecting-rod must be uncoupled, after which the ‘little end’.
1952 Pop. Sci. Jan. 217/1 The little end is then cut out and filed to shape and the big end drilled for the two bearing-cap screws.
2012 A. Livesey Adv. Motorsport Eng. (2013) 147 Ensure that the little end fit is correct—as if it is not, the piston is likely to break at this point.
Little Entente n. [named in contradistinction to the earlier alliance between the larger powers of Great Britain, France, and Russia known as the triple entente n. at triple adj. and adv. Compounds 1c, perhaps immediately after French Petite Entente (1920; also attested in English texts from this year)] historical an alliance existing from 1920 to 1938 between Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia (as then constituted); the group of states in this alliance.
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1920 Weekly Rev. 29 Sept. 264/2 The Italians regard with distrust the Little Entente of Czechoslovakia, Rumania, and Jugoslavia.
1966 R. W. Seton-Watson & R. G. D. Laffan in S. Clissold Short Hist. Yugoslavia (1969) x. 196 There were those who felt alarm at the successive departures from the policy of reliance on France and the Little Entente.
2012 C. Reijnen in R. Lettevall et al. Neutrality in 20th-cent. Europe iii. ix. 194 Originally the Little Entente was little more than a set of bilateral treaties.
little fever n. [translating classical Latin febrīcula febricula n.] now historical and rare a febrile illness in which the fever is of low grade or short duration; (in later use) esp. typhus or typhoid fever.The febricula or little fever described by Richard Manningham (see quot. 1746) is sometimes taken to be chronic fatigue syndrome.
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?1532 T. Paynell tr. Erasmus De Contemptu Mundi v. sig. E.iii Truely I had ben fortunate & happy, if I myght haue made dethe also afrayde: But dethe that ouercometh all thynges, dyd ouercome me, yea, with a lytell feuer [L. febricula].
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxiv. iv. 246 I for my part, as becommeth an Emperour and noble Commaunder,..will alone die standing on my feet, readie to contemne this life of mine, which some little fever or other, will bereave me of [L. quam mihi febricula eripiet vna].
1746 R. Manningham (title) The symptoms, nature, causes, and cure of the febricula, or little fever: commonly called the nervous or hysteric fever.
1890 Cent. Dict. at Fever Little fever, typhoid fever.
1894 C. Creighton Hist. Epidemics Brit. II. i. 70 It is not quite clear whether Strother's fever with relapses and jaundice corresponded exactly to the little fever, hysteric fever, or nervous fever of the same years.
1991 Biol. Psychiatry 30 747 The syndromal presentation of chronic fatigue, feverishness, diffuse pains and other constitutional complaints..has a lengthy history... Sir Richard Manningham wrote, in 1750, of the ‘febricula’ or ‘little fever’ which presented with a variety of constitutional complaints, but few objective clinical findings.
little fish n. colloquial a person or thing of relatively little importance or significance, esp. in little fish in a big pond (and variants): a person or thing regarded as comparatively insignificant, or whose influence is diminished within the context of a larger group or more populous environment; = small fish n. at small adj. and n.2 Compounds 4; cf. big fish n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant
unknownc1390
pawnc1450
semi-cipher?1550
bauble1570
Jack with the feather1581
nobody1583
winterling1585
squash1600
rush candle1628
niflec1635
nullity1657
nonentity1710
featherweight1812
underscrub1822
nyaff1825
small fish1836
no-account1840
little fish1846
peanut1864
commonplacer1874
sparrow-fart1886
Little Willie1901
pipsqueak1905
nebbish1907
pie-biter1911
blob1916
smallie1930
no-count1932
zilch1933
Mickey Mouse1935
muzhik1945
nerd1951
nothingburger1953
nerk1955
non-person1959
no-mark1982
1846 Satirist 27 Dec. 7/3 The master of hounds counted time, and when the proper moment arrived Joe ordered, how we little fish swim, his huntsman to throw off the hounds.
1888 Harvard Advocate 26 Oct. 19/1 A jocose person upon hearing of Jerry's removal asked him if he liked better to be a large fish in a small puddle than to be a little fish in a big puddle.
1903 N.Y. Times 20 Apr. 5/3 Is it better to be a big fish in a little pond or a little fish in a big pond?
1975 S. Zukin Beyond Marx & Tito iv. 126 When I ask her about her non-involvement in political life, she says, I'm just a little fish.
1989 J. C. Hefley Truth in Crisis IV. vi. 105 My husband attended many of the conventions..and often came home very upset. He felt he was only a little fish in a big pond.
2006 Washington Post (Nexis) 20 Oct. g9 In the United States, it [sc. Suzuki] is a little fish in a big pond, perhaps more widely known for its motorcycles than its cars and sport utility vehicles.
little giant n. a machine or piece of equipment regarded as powerful for its size; spec. a jointed nozzle of a water cannon (now historical; cf. giant n. 4).Chiefly (with capital initials) in brand names.
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1854 Ohio Cultivator 15 Nov. 231/1 (heading) Scott's Little Giant Patent Corn & Cob Mill, patented May 6th, 1854.
1866 S. B. Pike U.S. Patent 56,150 1/1 New and useful Improvements on Machines for Grinding and Pulverizing Quartz or other Ores Containing Metals, called ‘Pike's Improved Quartz-Pulverizer, “Little Giant”’.
1874 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 352 In Deer Lodge County..‘little giants’..have been introduced.
1919 L. H. Morrison Oil Engines xxiii. 418 The Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co., on their Little Giant engine, use a governor-controlled bleeder valve.
1999 M. Hill Gold vii. 116 In 1870 the simple nozzle was replaced by the ‘Little Giant’, or monitor... In place of powder and cannon balls, this cannon projected water.
2010 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 18 Mar. 5 e You can also order the Little Giant [sc. a ladder] from Costco.com for the same price and get free shipping, until April 3.
little green man n. (in folklore and science fiction) a small green-skinned (male) humanoid being, now spec. one from outer space; cf. little man n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > imaginary persons or creatures
man in the moon1596
Briarean1598
phantasim1598
mooncalf1638
splacknuck1726
Idomenian1764
little green man1802
ring-tailed roarer1828
Belsnickel1830
ice worm1830
catawampus1843
whangdoodle1852
Prince Charming1855
boojum1876
snark1879
Easter rabbit1881
Easter bunny1900
death moth1910
Moomin1950
energy vampire1967
tooth fairy1977
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant according to environment > [noun] > extraterrestrial inhabitant
heavenwareOE
superlunary1649
Selenite1650
lunarian1708
planetarian1778
little green man1802
starling1839
alien1931
space colony1932
space alien1936
ET1944
outworlder1948
off-worlder1957
extra-terrestrial1963
Klingon1968
grey1989
1802 Spirit of Public Jrnls. 5 348 (heading) The little green man. A German story.
1827 C. Otway Sketches in Ireland 374 A troop of the little green men, mounted on cattle not bigger than cats.
1873 K. Knox Father Time's Story Bk. xii. 157 Sometimes he [sc. a sprite] appeared as a little green man, sometimes a cat, a bird, a dog, or even a human being.
1920 Chatterbox 19/1 The little green men with the little red hoods, They talk to the trees, and the flowers, and the buds.
1940 R. Bloch in Fantastic Adventures Apr. 89 I would write more [fantastic fiction], if it wasn't for the little green men that run out of the woodwork and pull down my socks every time I sit at the typewriter.
1942 S.A.E. Jrnl. Aug. 10/2 No, the SAE Journal editorial office hasn't been invaded by the little green men. But T. A. Boyd..has been projecting his imagination 30 years into the future.
1955 Pop. Sci. Jan. 246/1 Maybe..one of those flying saucers landed and one of those little green men from Mars did it.
1971 ‘H. Calvin’ Poison Chasers iii. 36 We been reading too many books about little green men from Mars.
little guy n. originally and chiefly North American a man of little wealth or status; the ‘man on the street’, esp. as contrasted with the wealthy and powerful; cf. poor little guy n. at poor adj. and n.1 Compounds 1c and little man n. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > mediocrity > [noun] > mediocre person
mediocrity1694
mediocrist1779
mediocritist1797
plug1848
little guy1939
poor little guy1955
1939 J. Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath v. 50 Can't make a living on the land unless you've got two, five, ten thousand acres and a tractor. Crop land isn't for little guys like us any more.
1988 R. Harris Democracy in Kingston iv. 67 An accessible and tireless representative, Matthews was always willing to put himself out for the ‘little guy’.
2003 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 13 Apr. ii. 5/1 In dollars and cents, that lifting means big-bucks breaks for the richest taxpayers, small potatoes for the little guy.
little habit n. the dress of proficients or monastics of the second degree in the Orthodox Church; = lesser habit at habit n. 2b.
ΚΠ
1685 A. Lovell tr. R. Simon Crit. Hist. Relig. Eastern Nations i. 26 The others who are of..the Little Habit..are of an inferiour rank.
1718 J. Ozell tr. J. Pitton de Tournefort Voy. Levant I. iii. 83 They call the more Fervent the Monks of the little Habit.
1894 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 512/2 The calloyers are divided into three grades—the rhasophoria.., the ‘little habit’,..and the ‘great habit’.
1966 Note in E. Kadloubovsky & E. M. Palmer tr. Hegumen Khariton Art of Prayer ii. 69 Orthodox monks are divided into three grades: rasophore.., monk of the little habit, and monk of the great habit.
2002 J. D. Miller Beads & Prayers vii. 91 The knotted cord survives in both Greek and Slavic monasteries as part of the investiture of the Little Habit and the Great Habit when it is bestowed ceremonially upon a monk or nun by the Superior.
little hand n. chiefly colloquial the short hand on a clock or watch that indicates the hours; = hour-hand n. at hour n. Compounds; cf. big hand n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] > parts of
barrel1591
motion1605
bezel1616
fusee1622
string1638
crown wheel1646
out-case1651
watch-box1656
nuck1664
watchwork1667
balance-wheel1669
box1675
dial wheel1675
counter-potence1678
pendulum-balance1680
watch-case1681
pillar1684
contrate teeth1696
pinion of report1696
watch-hook1698
bob-balance1701
half-cock1701
potence1704
verge1704
pad1705
movable1709
jewel1711
pendant1721
crystal1722
watch-key1723
pendulum spring1728
lock spring1741
watch-glass1742
watch-spring1761
all-or-nothing piece1764
watch hand1764
cylinder1765
cannon?1780
cannon1802
stackfreed1819
pillar plate1821
little hand1829
hair-spring1830
lunette1832
all-or-nothing1843
locking1851
slag1857
staff1860
case spring1866
stem1866
balance-cock1874
watch-dial1875
balance-spring1881
balance-staff1881
Breguet spring1881
overcoil1881
surprise-piece1881
brass edge1884
button turn1884
fourth wheel1884
fusee-sink1884
pair-case1884
silver bar1884
silver piece1884
slang1884
top plate1884
karrusel1893
watch-face1893
watch bracelet1896
bar-movement1903
jewel pivot1907
jewel bearing1954
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of > hand(s)
pinOE
hand1563
teller1574
index1594
finger1603
palm1629
hour-hand1669
minute hand1720
index-hand1742
second-hand1760
moment-hand1766
little hand1829
big hand1849
set-hands1884
sweep hand1948
sweep second1948
1829 Relig. Mag. Feb. 190/2 The little hand of the watch is connected with an unseen spring, from which it receives its motion.
1919 Irish Monthly Nov. 610 I saw the time, the big hand is at three and the little hand at five.
2004 K. Hannigan Ida B vi. 48 I kept staring at the clock over the door, watching the little hand get closer and closer to the three.
little helper n. slang any of several mood-altering or performance-enhancing drugs; cf. mother's little helper n. at mother n.1 Compounds 5b.
ΚΠ
1964 M. Braly Shake him till he Rattles (new ed.) vii. 64 Some nutty little helpers. Redbirds.
1969 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 16 Feb. 30/3 Dr. Louria mentions the pill-centred life of many adults. This rationale is often used by hippies who sneer at their parents' dependence on sleeping pills, diet pills and dozens of other little helpers.
1974 ‘J. Jacks’ Find Don's Daughter iv. 39 ‘It rots your liver.’ ‘So does speed. Drummer's little helper.’
1991 Y. Lavigne Good Guy, Bad Guy xiii. 360 Crank becomes boopsie's little helper.
2002 Independent 27 Feb. ii. 1/4 More than 20,000 children in Britain are thought to use the behaviour-altering drug Ritalin, to calm hyperactivity, and one set of figures published last year suggested that by 2007 one child in seven might be taking such ‘little helpers’.
Little Horse n. Astronomy (with the) (the English name of) the constellation Equuleus.Chiefly as a conscious translation.
ΚΠ
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iv. xix. f. 220 Item the little Horse called Equus and Hippos, whose neck is inclosed with a cloud, and in his head are foure little starres.
1659 J. Moxon Tutor to Astron. & Geogr. 209 Equiculus, is the little Horse, and it consisteth of 4. Stars.
1754 J. Hill Urania at Alpharos The Arabs always add an epithet of distinction, that it [sc. Pegasus] may not be confounded with the Equuleus, or Little Horse.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 496/1 Equuleus (the little horse), a constellation of Ptolemy surrounded by Pegasus, Vulpecula, Aquila, and Capricornus.
1964 D. H. Menzel Field Guide Stars & Planets 112 Delphinus (the Dolphin) and Equuleus (the Little Horse...) lie between Pegasus and Aquila.
2001 P. Moore 2002 Yearbk. Astron. i. 113 Delphinus is not the only small constellation in the region, but the others—Equuleus (the Little Horse), Sagitta (the Arrow) and Vulpecula (the Fox) are much less conspicuous.
little ice age n. Climatology a relatively short or moderate period of colder climate and increased glaciation occurring between warmer periods; spec. (usually the Little Ice Age) a period of this kind lasting from the 16th cent. (or earlier) to the 19th, and reaching its peak during the 17th; cf. neoglaciation n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > [noun] > ice-age or glaciation
ice time1841
boulder-period1845
glacial epoch1846
ice age1855
stage1895
little ice age1939
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > [noun] > ice-age or glaciation > specific glaciation
Iowan1894
Scanian1895
Illinoian1896
sub-Aftonian1896
Mindel1909
Günz1910
Würm1910
Polonian1914
Nebraskan1930
Elster1934
little ice age1939
Donau1957
Wisconsin1967
Devensian1968
Wisconsinan1968
Anglian1976
Menapian1983
1939 F. E. Matthes in Trans. Amer. Geophysical Union 20 520 All of the glaciers of the latter class, however,..now have far greater extent and volume than they had during the middle third of the Post-Pleistocene interval, and accordingly it may well be said that we are living in an epoch of renewed but moderate glaciation—a ‘little ice age’, that already has lasted about 4000 years.
1958 A. Marshack World in Space iv. 67 Approximately 2500 years ago, the ice began to advance, in what glaciologists call the ‘little ice age’.
1978 Daily Tel. 8 May 11/6 Very cold periods, or ‘little ice ages’, seem to happen when the Sun is relatively quiet.
1991 L. Niven et al. Fallen Angels 392 The last such prolonged period [of minimum solar activity] was known as the ‘Maunder Minimum’ and coincided with what has come to be known as ‘The Little Ice Age’.
2007 H. Svensmark & N. Calder Chilling Stars i. 17 Historians of climate have often disagreed about when the Little Ice Age started and finished..but its severity is well documented.
Little Irelander n. chiefly depreciative an opponent of Ireland's involvement or union with other countries, chiefly with respect to the activities of the British Empire, the separation from Northern Ireland, or membership of the European Union (or its predecessors); cf. Little Englander n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > Irish politics > [noun] > principles or policies > adherents or supporters of
unionist1799
West Briton1805
repealer1829
nationalist1849
Home Ruler1867
loyalist1885
Little Irelander1900
devolutionist1905
N1906
partitionist1921
1900 Public Opinion 1 Feb. 138/2 England's adversity is always Ireland's opportunity so far as the ‘Little Irelander’ is concerned.
1927 Sunday Times 13 Feb. 5/1 This may not be pleasing to certain little Irelanders who wish us to live in complete isolation.
1940 Capuchin Ann. 11 192 Ulster of the nine counties, with fine people amongst the little-Irelanders as well as amongst the all-Irelanders, will persist and survive.
1950 O. St. J. Gogarty Rolling down Lea 69 The reactionaries and the Little Irelander from foreign parts came into power.
1971 Economist 14 Aug. 37/3 It..seems unlikely that Irish will become an official community language—a godsend for Ireland's little Irelanders in any marginal fight which might develop for public opinion next year.
2012 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 28 Oct. We cannot abandon the vital democratic debate on Europe to a Punch and Judy show between federalists and iconoclastic Little Irelanders.
Little Italy n. (a) (in form little Italy) a place or region considered to resemble Italy (obsolete); (b) chiefly North American any urban district inhabited predominantly by Italian immigrants or people of Italian descent.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > part reminiscent of other place
Little Venice1598
Little Italy1762
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > part of town or city > [noun] > inhabited by similar people > other specific nationality
Moorery1808
Little Italy1885
Koreatown1977
1762 P. Murdoch tr. A. F. Büsching New Syst. Geogr. V. 391 Bamberg..near which also are such numbers of laurel, fig, lemon, and orange trees, that this spot is stiled, by some, the little Italy [Ger. das kleine Italien] of Germany.
1775 S. Dobson tr. J.-F.-P.-A. de Sade Life of Petrarch I. 49 This part of Gascony appeared a little Italy.
1885 Bucks County (Pa.) Gaz. 9 July 2/3 Seventy-five or eighty ragpickers have been locked up.., and in Little Italy it is beginning to be understood that the health officers mean business.
1950 J. Lait & L. Mortimer Chicago: Confidential ii. xxii. 174 Years during which the Mafia (Black Hand) flourished in Chicago in Little Italy.
2000 N.Y. Times Mag. 15 Oct. 64/2 She lives in Manhattan's Little Italy, surrounded by trendy restaurants and fabulous boutiques.
† little Jack n. Obsolete (depreciative) the pyx (sometimes in the form of a human figure) in which the reserved Host was enclosed in the sepulchre during part of Easter week; (also) the Host itself.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > vessel (general) > pyx > [noun]
boxc1325
pyx?a1425
sacrament-boxc1440
custode1510
Eucharist1535
pyxis1536
little Jack1566
altar pyx1605
chrismal1845
Eucharistial1845
custodial1861
1566 in E. Peacock Eng. Church Furnit. (1866) 46 Item a sepulker wth litle Jack... litle Jack was broken in peces this yeare by the said churchwardens.
1866 Sword & Trowel Nov. 501 It was a common thing among the Reformed to call the wafer by the name of Jack-in-the-box, Little Jack, Round Robin, the Sacrament of the Halter, and such like terms.
little Joe n. [perhaps compare earlier Joe n.2 2, Joey n.1 1, both names for a coin worth four pence] a total of four rolled on two dice in the game of craps.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > craps > type of throw
natural1762
little Joe1886
craps1890
point number1926
miss-out1936
1886 Cincinnati Enquirer 12 June 10/2 ‘Wetcher throw, coon?’ ‘Little Jo. Jo Day! 'E dun got no use for Little Jo.’
1890 Dial. Notes 1 61 Big Dick: 10; little Joe: 4.
1926 T. S. Stribling Teeftallow viii. 67 The shooter..was half drunk,..chanting at each shot, ‘Come up, Little Joe! Don't deceive yo' pappy!’
1968 Scottish Daily Mail 16 July 2/1 If you throw crap dice and a combination of seven is showing on top, what is facing down?.. Little Joes?
2009 V. Coren For Richer for Poorer xii. 154 On and on and on, rolls the nimble Chinese wizard. It's like there's no seven on the dice. Bang—snake eyes. Bang—boxcars. Bang—little Joe.
little lady n. (a) a young female child, a girl; = little woman n. 2 (also my little lady); (b) (often with the) a man's wife or partner, or (more widely) any woman, often considered condescending or offensive (cf. little woman n. 1).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] > wife
wifeeOE
womanc1275
peerc1330
spousessc1384
ladyc1390
good lady1502
girl?a1513
spousage1513
little lady1523
the weaker vessel1526
companion1535
wedlock1566
Mrs1572
dame1574
rib?1590
feme1595
fathom1602
feme covert1602
shrew1606
wife of one's bosom1611
kickie-wickiea1616
heifer1616
sposa1624
bosom-partner1633
goodwife1654
little woman1715
squaw1767
the Mrs1821
missus1823
maw1826
lady wife1840
tart1864
mistress1873
mama1916
ball and chain1921
trouble and strife1929
old boot1958
1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell sig. Dii Mi litell lady I may not leue behinde.
?1655 R. Baron Mirza i. 18 How does my little Lady?
1675 R. Head Miss Display'd 72 I speak not this in the dishonor of her, nor any way in reflection to your self, little Lady.
1754 Z. Grey Crit., Hist. & Explanatory Notes Shakespeare I. 57 By'r Laken a parlous fear, By our ladykin, or little lady.
1828 M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 125 She is going to be a governess..and it's to be hoped the little ladies will take kindly to their tables.
1902 Insurance Press 10 Sept. 5/1 If it [sc. death] should come to pass, how would you leave the little lady at home, with her brood and yours?
1979 M. Harris It Looked Like For Ever i. 2 Hilary was the cutest, dearest little thing in the world... Every body asked her, ‘And what are you going to get for Christmas, my little lady?’.
1997 J. Haigh et al. Catch & Release Gloss. 134/1 Pipeline widow. The little lady left in town while her old man is up on the slope doing his seven-twelves, nine on and two off, at Prime Camp.
2014 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 16 Feb. mm18 Though one of the male council members insisted on referring to her as ‘little lady’.., her talent for tough negotiating soon won her the respect of the city's power brokers.
little language a form of baby talk, originally one used in intimate communications (used by Jonathan Swift for the language of his conversation and correspondence with ‘Stella’); (hence) any private language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > dialect > [noun] > baby or infants' language
little language1711
baby language1741
nursery language1826
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 4 May (1948) I. 261 Do you know that every syllable I write I hold my lips just for all the world as if I were talking in our own little language to MD.
1825 ‘M. O'Tara’ Thomas Fitz-Gerald I. xi. 207 He interpreted her young thoughts, spoke her little language.
1863 Fraser's Mag. Feb. 152/1 She carried on hip a prize baby, a most ‘doody’ thing, to quote the ‘little language’.
a1865 E. C. Gaskell Wives & Daughters (1866) II. xxiv. 244 Some innocent sentences of love..little sentences in ‘little language’ that went home to the squire's heart.
1922 O. Jespersen Lang. viii. 144 It would not do, however, for the child's ‘little language’ and its dreadful mistakes to become fixed.
1944 H. G. Wells '42 to '44 142 The first thing two lovers set about doing is..to devise a little language of their own.
2011 D. Mayer Park Youth in Vienna i. iii. 45 Gangs are different universes of discourse, using ‘little languages’ of their own.
little lunch n. Australian (chiefly Queensland) a mid-morning snack at primary school; a mid-morning break for this snack; cf. big lunch n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.Cf. also playlunch n. at play n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1925 Queensland Times 19 June 4/6 The school children started school a half-hour earlier, went without their ‘little lunch’, and discontinued their labours for the day at noon.
1951 Brisbane Tel. 14 Feb. 2/4 It's quite a good idea for the child to get into the habit of having the milk at ‘little lunch’ or ‘elevens’ as it used to be in my day.
1982 N. Keesing Lily on Dustbin 120 In Queensland ‘eleveners’ have disappeared in favour of the universal ‘little lunch’ to eat during the morning.
2012 C. Sarra Good Morning, Mr Sarra ii. 22 I played sport in the mornings before school, during little lunch and big lunch.
little mag n. colloquial = little magazine n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > periodical > [noun] > magazine > literary or artistic
review1705
Athenaeum1835
lit.1895
little magazine1895
little mag1907
1907 Death Valley Chuck-walla (Greenwater, Ca.) June There was something in the daredevil makeup of the little mags which we liked.
1938 Eng. Jrnl. 27 513 Yes, I know all about the little ‘mag’, it may be dead, and, according to some opinion, it never should have been born.
1948 S. Bellow Let. 10 June (2010) 62 I'm typing out one of the stories I told you about... I have a feeling that you'll see it as little-mag material, but maybe I'm wrong.
2004 B. Frazer in N. M. Grace & R. C. Johnson Breaking Rule of Cool 130 Small time poets just making the scene at readings or in little mags.
little magazine n. a periodical directed at a readership with serious literary, artistic, or other intellectual interests, usually having a small circulation and considered to appeal to a minority; cf. earlier little review n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > periodical > [noun] > magazine > literary or artistic
review1705
Athenaeum1835
lit.1895
little magazine1895
little mag1907
1895 H. James in Yellow Bk. July 29 A critical study which I put forth in a little magazine.
1926 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 391/2 As these little magazines often contain only thirty-two pages, cost..two or three cents a copy to produce, and sell for fifteen..you can afford to dispense with advertisements.
1947 Partisan Rev. 14 473 Members of the faculties of the universities and the few writers in the larger cities who do independent critical work pitched beyond the level of commercialism..find their outlet in the little magazines.
1993 H. Gardner Creating Minds vii. 249 He was actively involved in the publication of so-called little magazines (collations of poetry, prose, and opinion) on both sides of the Atlantic.
Little Mary n. British colloquial (now somewhat dated) the stomach.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > stomach or belly > [noun]
maweOE
wombOE
codc1275
cropc1325
gut1362
stomachc1374
bellyc1375
pauncha1393
flanka1398
heartc1400
kitchen?a1500
kytec1540
micklewame1566
craw1574
ventricle1574
pudding house1583
buck1607
wame1611
ventricule1677
ventriculus1710
victualling-office1751
breadbasket1753
haggis1757
haggis bagc1775
baggie1786
pechan1786
manyplies1787
middle piece1817
inner man1856
inner woman1857
tum-tum1864
tum1867
tummy1867
keg1887
stummick1888
kishke1902
shit-bag1902
Little Mary1903
puku1917
Maconochie1919
1903 Punch 14 Oct. 258/1 And what is the subject of the piece [sc. J. M. Barrie's Little Mary]? Who is Little Mary? It is nobody: it is simply a nursery name that the child-doctor invents as a kind of polite equivalent to what children ordinarily allude to as their ‘tum-tum’.
1903 Punch 14 Oct. 258/1 Good-natured British audiences have strong Little Maries.
1923 U. L. Silberrad Lett. Jean Armiter iv. 82 Then I get a cold in Little Mary, my vulnerable spot.
1933 W. H. Harrison Humour in East End 18 ‘I've got a little Mary too!’ Swift as lightning came the reply, with a shrewd glance at a corpulent waistcoat: ‘Not arf yer ain't, guv-nor.’
1940 H. Garland Let. 26 Feb. (1998) 433 I very seldom have any trouble with my ‘Little Mary’ as the British call it.
little mass n. Roman Catholic Church a mass without music and with the minimum of ceremony; cf. Low Mass n. at low adj. and n.2 Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Mass Little Mass is that said at private Altars with less Ceremony.
1737 J. Ozell in tr. F. Rabelais Wks. IV. xlix. 200 (note) A low and dry mass... A little Mass, or low Mass: a Mass without Communion.
1855 E. de Courcillon Le Curé Manqué xii. 167 Afterward the priest said a little mass.
1964 N. Reed Caste War of Yucatán xi. 199 Then the Maestro Cantor began the mass, the ‘Chan’ or little mass, chanting Latin to the best of his ability.
2012 T. Mankiewicz & R. Crane My Life as Mankiewicz viii. 266 Pope John Paul..said a little mass for fifty Polish people.
little me n. used to convey the speaker's mock-deprecation of himself or herself; cf. earlier poor little me n. at poor adj. and n.1 Compounds 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > of little importance
nekardc1450
man of clouts, king of clouts1467
dandiprat1556
Tom Thumb1579
minim1590
pygmy?1592
titmouse1596
gnatling1614
rye straw1615
nazzard1619
whisk1629
whifling1640
snifty1660
whippersnapper1674
nick-ninny1699
little me1711
squita1825
lightweight1831
lay figure1835
whiffet1839
pinkeen1850
huckleberry1868
bush leaguer1906
knibloch1915
1711 J. Swift Let. 24 Mar. (1768) IV. 267 Poor pretty Stella, and her weak eyes, God bless them and the owner, and send them well, and little me together, I hope ere long.
1789 G. Hardinge Let. Apr. in Misc. Wks. (1818) III. 398 But think of little me! attended by six Footmen!
1862 J. G. Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. (new ed.) II. 493 Master Bullfinch..commenced singing in a sweet undertone,..his whole expression one of the most profound admiration for little me.
1923 E. Bowen Encounters 9 Nobody takes any notice of little me.
1968 A. Diment Bang Bang Birds viii. 149 He had had instructions from his bosses to liquidate little me.
2013 S. Grizzle 3 ‘P’ Man 288 People wouldn't want to hear what happened to little me.
little-minded adj. = small-minded adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective]
narrowed1599
narrow-minded1611
narrow1612
small1619
narrow1622
tub-brained1634
narrow-souled1641
narrow-spirited1645
narrow-compassed1647
illiberal1649
cat-witted1672
stingy1694
little-minded1707
straitened1712
unenlarged1741
contracted1765
one-eyed1779
unliberalized1793
nippit1808
small-minded1811
narrow-brained1835
narrow visioned1853
thin-minded1862
narrow-gauge1872
one-track1900
narrow-gutted1903
tunnel-visioned1968
1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 25 Oct. (O.H.S.) II. 66 This is little minded.
1813 Examiner 24 May 332/2 The little-minded vanity of a nation.
1894 Q. Rev. Jan. 213 Men become undignified and little-minded, local manikins.
1950 W. P. Dunn Sir Thomas Browne ii. 67 Bacon..looked upon atheists with contempt as little-minded men.
2002 Flying May 93/3 These little-minded, mean-spirited folks—all of whom relished the word no and took joy in phrases such as not authorized.
little-mindedness n. small-mindedness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [noun]
narrow-mindedness1646
parvanimitya1691
narrowness1697
narrow-spiritedness1709
little-mindedness1767
narrow-mindeda1774
contraction1775
illiberality1775
smallness1813
illiberalism1839
narrow-heartedness1850
single-track mind1919
tunnel vision1949
1767 Babler II. No. 98. 160 I own I cannot help being hurt at the little-mindedness of his worshippers.
1824 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1825) 342 The little-mindedness which shrinks from professional satire.
1900 J. H. Muirhead Chapters from Aristotle's Ethics 243 With regard to honour and dishonour, there is a mean called magnanimity, or high-mindedness,..and a defect called pusillanimity or little-mindedness.
2008 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 12 July 47 He evokes an epic struggle against what he sees as suffocating little-mindedness and convention.
little mother n. (the type of) a young girl who plays at being the mother of playmates or dolls or who acts like a mother, especially towards her younger siblings.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > parent > mother > [noun] > girl acting as mother
little mother1827
1827 A. C. Mant Little Blue Bag 22 in Tales for Ellen (new ed.) I Agnes, as little mothers [1825 little mammas] I believe frequently are, was very fond of having her play-child to punish.
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 333/1 Little Mother's Outfit... Contains..a ‘Little Mother's Fashion Book’, showing designs and directions for making dolls' dresses.
1929 S. Lewis Dodsworth xi. 106 My dear child, you can't at the same time pan me for my vulgarity and be the tender little mother!
1967 A. Wilson No Laughing Matter ii. 70 Sukey had better deal with them. She likes being the little mother.
2002 Independent 20 May (Review section) 5 The oldest of four,..she was always quite the little mother to her youngest siblings.
little Ned n. [ < Ned n.3] British colloquial (now historical) = little Neddy n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of body or spec. bodies > [noun] > committee > parliamentary committees
committee1566
grand committee1606
Ned1961
Neddy1962
little Neddy1963
little Ned1964
1964 Economist 5 Dec. 1112/1 The ‘little Neds’ (the separate councils..for different industries).
1991 S. J. Epale Econ. & Social Council Republic of Cameroon 18 The ‘Little Neds’ whose task was to study the problems of particular industries.
little Neddy n. [ < little adj. + Neddy n.3] British colloquial (now historical) a committee set up under the National Economic Development Council for a specific industry or industrial sector.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of body or spec. bodies > [noun] > committee > parliamentary committees
committee1566
grand committee1606
Ned1961
Neddy1962
little Neddy1963
little Ned1964
1963 Financial Times 15 Aug. 9/1 (headline) Industries' own ‘little Neddies’ first expected by year-end.
1976 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 124 545/1 Linked with the NED Council, we already have ‘little Neddies’..which can recommend strategic action plans to meet the needs of their particular industry.
2011 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 15 Sept. 35 One of Allen's first tasks for Heath's incoming government was to review the need for the ‘little Neddys’ covering each industrial sector.
little Orphan Annie n. (also little Orphant Annie) [ < Little Orphant Annie, the name of an orphan child in The Elf-Child , a popular poem by American writer James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) published in 1885 (compare quot. 1885), upon which were based a long-running cartoon strip Little Orphan Annie by American cartoonist Harold Gray (1894–1968) first published in the New York Daily News in August 1924 (compare quot. 1924), and subsequently also a radio show (from 1930), several films (1932 and 1938), and the Broadway musical Annie! (1977).] (a name for) a poor, deprived, or pathetic-looking girl or woman (originally, one who is an orphan).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > [noun] > orphan
stepchild971
stepbairnc1000
pupilc1384
orphana1450
orphelinc1450
orpheninc1450
orphanera1500
ward1559
orphanet1604
little Orphan Annie1910
war orphan1915
1885 J. W. Riley in Indianapolis Jrnl. 15 Nov. 1/4 Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay.]
1910 Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. p. vii/1 I'm cultivating my benevolent instincts by allowing the ‘little, orphan Annies’ to whiz around in my ‘buzzer’.
1915 R. L. Hartt Confessions of Clergyman xvi. 282 People conclude that ministers will marry anybody—Jack Johnsons to Jeanne d'Arcs, Little Orphant Annies to Idiot Boys.
1924 H. Gray in Daily News (N.Y.) 5 Aug. (Pink ed.) 26 (title of cartoon strip) Little Orphan Annie.]
1938 D. Smith Dear Octopus i. 39 You stood there in the doorway..looking exactly like little Orphan Annie.
1960 Woman 20 Feb. 6/3 She cast herself in the rôle of Little Orphan Annie.
1965 Newsweek 19 July 58/1 A Little Orphan Annie dress by Mary Quant or Caroline Charles.
1966 M. G. Eberhart Witness at Large (1967) i. 13 I was in a position of Little Orphan Annie in my relationship to the Esseven family.
2011 P. Carter Altar of Bones 153 There were even bars on the windows, although I suspect they were more to keep the neighborhood riffraff out than us little Orphan Annies in.
Little Parliament n. historical the assembly of 120 members, nominated by Oliver Cromwell and his Council of Officers, which sat from 4 July to 12 December 1653; = Barebone's Parliament n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > a particular English or British parliament > specific
great Parliamentc1450
Good Parliament1580
addle parliament1614
giunto1641
junto1641
Unlearned Parliament1643
Long Parliament1646
rump?1653
Short Parliament1653
lay Parliament1655
Barebone's Parliament1657
Rump Parliament1659
Little Parliamenta1675
Long Parliament1678
Pensioner Parliament1678
Pensioned Parliament1681
Bluestocking Parliamenta1683
Pension Parliament1682
Pensionary Parliament1690
marvellous Parliament?1706
rumple1725
lack-learning Parliament1765
unreported Parliament1839
Cavalier Parliament1849
Addled Parliament1857
merciless Parliament1875
wonderful Parliament1878
nominated Parliament1898
a1675 B. Whitelocke Memorials Eng. Affairs (1732) anno 1653 563/2 They [sc. Cromwell and his Officers] had appointed the little Parliament whom they chose, and commanded them.
1764 Lives Illustrious Brit. Seamen 133 At his return to London he found the little parliament sitting by the authority of general Cromwell.
1838 W. Penaluna Hist. Surv. County of Cornwall I. 147 At Halton was born in the year 1579, Francis Rouse, who rendered himself conspicuous in the days of Cromwell, being speaker of the Little Parliament.
1900 J. Morley Cromwell 359 The company of men so constituted stands in history as the Little Parliament, or..Barebones' Parliament.
1999 Gazette (Montreal) 31 Oct. c5 With the declaration of the Commonwealth, the bicameral system was replaced by the Rump Parliament and, later, the Little Parliament.
little person n. (now sometimes with capital initials) a person who is exceptionally short genetically, a dwarf (cf. little people n. 1).In early use not a fixed collocation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily height > shortness > [noun] > person
dwarfeOE
congeonc1230
go-by-ground?a1300
smalla1300
shrimpc1386
griga1400
gruba1400
murche1440
nirvil1440
mitinga1450
witherling1528
wretchocka1529
elf1530
hop-o'-my-thumb1530
pygmy1533
little person1538
manikin1540
mankin1552
dandiprat1556
yrle1568
grundy1570
Jack Sprat1570
squall1570
manling1573
Tom Thumb1579
pinka1585
squib1586
screaling1594
giant-dwarf1598
twattle1598
agate1600
minimus1600
cock sparrow1602
dapperling1611
modicum1611
scrub1611
sesquipedalian1615
dwarflinga1618
wretchcock1641
homuncio1643
whip-handle1653
homuncule1656
whippersnapper1674
chitterling1675
sprite1684
carliea1689
urling1691
wirling1691
dwarf man1699
poppet1699
durgan1706
short-arse1706
tomtit1706
Lilliputian1726
wallydraigle1736
midge1757
minikin1761
squeeze-crab1785
minimum1796
niff-naff1808
titman1818
teetotum1822
squita1825
cradden1825
nyaff1825
weed1825
pinkeen1850
fingerling1864
Lilliput1867
thumbling1867
midget1869
inch1884
shorty1888
titch1888
skimpling1890
stub1890
scrap1898
pygmoid1922
lofty1933
peewee1935
smidgen1952
pint-size1954
pint-sized1973
munchkin1974
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Nanus..a lyttell person, a dwarfe.
1776 Entick's New Spelling Dict. (rev. ed.) 98 Congeton..dwarf, a little person.
1839 W. J. Thoms Anecd. & Trad. 18 (note) The name Dandiprat is..commonly applied to any dwarf or little person.
1965 Ebony Oct. 112/2 More important than the job problems little people face are the many social problems... [In] young adulthood..the little person begins to wonder if he or she can have a home and family.
2005 B. M. Adelson Dwarfism (2011) v. 216 If she [sc. a pediatrician] were just a Little Person it would be a novelty. The fact is, she's a fabulous doctor.
little piecer n. Spinning (now chiefly historical) the junior of the two assistants to a spinner in a cotton mill; opposed to big piecer n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2; cf. piecener n.
ΚΠ
1832 Poor Man's Guardian 28 Apr. 4/2 I have..seen the little piecer..smacked in the face so violently that the blood has flowed from its nostrils in a stream.
1948 M. Cole Makers of Labour Movement 253 Shackleton..started life as a little piecer in Lancashire.
2006 D. Edgerton Shock of Old ii. 36 Each pair of mules was operated by the male spinner and his two assistants, called the ‘big piecer’ and the ‘little piecer’.
† little pox n. Obsolete rare = smallpox n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > eruptive diseases > [noun] > smallpox
pock1296
variole?a1425
pox1476
small-pockc1510
smallpox?1562
variola1593
little pox?a1649
variolous1676
discrete smallpox1684
varioloid1820
varicelloid1873
variola major1902
whitepox1911
variola minor1925
1526 Grete Herball ccccxcv. sig. Cc.i/2 (heading) For the lytell Pockes.]
?a1649 W. Drummond Notes Ben Jonson's Conversat. (1842) 23 Sir P. Sidneye's Mother, Leicester's sister, after she had the litle pox, never shew herself in Court therafter bot masked.
1828 Methodist Rev. 11 192/2 And lest the nasty little pox [small pox] Should chance to catch the poor old fox, I thought I'd stay at home.
Little Red Book n. colloquial the book Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong (published in English in 1966); a copy of this; (hence) any short book of political reflections or precepts. [This expression does not exist in Chinese; the official title of the book is Máo zhǔxí yǔlù ( < the name of Máo + zhǔxí chairman + yǔlù, lit. ‘quotation’, genre of traditional Chinese religious and philosophical literature).]
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > treatise or dissertation > [noun] > specific treatises
aloedary1753
Tracts for the Times1834
Oxford Tract1836
Little Red Book1966
1966 Bridgeport (Connecticut) Telegram 28 Oct. 23/1 Red Chinese students expelled from the Soviet Union..waving little red books of party chairman Mao Tse-Tung's quotations.
1970 G. Jackson Let. 17 Apr. in Soledad Brother (1971) 225 Burn it; all the fascist literature, burn that too. Then equip yourself with the Little Red Book.
1976 J. Crosby Nightfall x. 47 If I write my own little Red Book, that will be in it. Hit the pricks—or they get ideas.
2008 A. Meier Lost Spy v. 92 The Law of Social Revolution, a little red book the Rand published in 1926.
little review n. (a mock-depreciatory title for) a periodical with critical articles on culture and current events, esp. one directed at a readership with serious intellectual interests; cf. little magazine n.
ΚΠ
1705 D. Defoe (title) The little review; or, An inquisition of scandal: consisting in answers of questions and doubts, remarks, observation and reflection.
1884 Contemp. Rev. July 135 Every page of the little review just published by the leaders of the school, Zola, Huysman, and Caze—the Revue Indépendante—bristles with contempt for human nature.
1909 F. Y. Eccles Cent. of French Poets 316 [Gustave Kahn] founded La Vogue (1886) and produced in that strenuous little review most of the pieces which are to be found in his first volume of poetry.
1914 (title) The little review.
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 Jan. 37/3 The ‘little reviews’ themselves have become erudite, careful, critical not creative.
2013 J.-M. Rabaté in A. Uhlmann Samuel Beckett in Context v. 54 Beckett..devoured the new magazines and little reviews.
little science n. scientific research that does not require much in the way of resources or personnel.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > systematic knowledge, science > [noun] > requiring large resources > not
little science1961
1961 A. M. Weinberg in Science 21 July 162/1 We must make Big Science flourish without..allowing it to trample Little Science—that is, we must nurture small-scale excellence as carefully as we lavish gifts on large-scale spectaculars.
1963 D. J. Price (title) Little science, big science.
1972 Science 9 June 1084/1 For nearly every scientist the personal joys of little science are greater than those of big science.
1996 Amer. Scientist July 367/3 Their research was typically in the ‘little science’ style, meaning on a relatively small budget.
little screen n. (with the) the screen of a television set, television.
ΚΠ
1925 Pop. Radio July 112/2 So rapidly are these pictures built up as white silhouettes on a black background on the little screen of the teloramaphone that the mechanics of the thing is hardly noticeable.]
1953 Q. Film, Radio & Television 7 252 The movie people..fear the little screen will undermine the big one.
1975 Listener 2 Jan. 23/1 The cumulative effect of watching the little screen for hours on end.
2011 S. T. Blake Battered Husband i. 14 The girls today..see the life on the little screen and that is what they think life is or should be like.
little season n. now chiefly historical a period of the winter traditionally adopted by the upper echelons of society for a series of fashionable events, especially in London or Washington, D.C.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > [noun] > social season
season1709
little season1901
1901 Acad. & Lit. 9 Nov. 446 The ‘Little Season’, which London sees in November.
1916 Munsey's Mag. Mar. 296/2 This is what we call the ‘little season’. Congress..convenes..on the first Monday in December, and from then until the 1st of January, when the real season begins, there is the little season.
1938 Burlington Mag. Feb. p. xvii/1 Highly successful sales..in the so-called ‘little season’ which ended just before Christmas.
1959 J. Fleming Miss Bones xiv. 150 This..is the Little Season, as it's known. There are numerous Embassy parties..first nights at the theatres..and what have you.
1993 B. W. Cook Eleanor Roosevelt I. ix. 211 She single-handedly rescued the ‘little season’ by planning a Halloween dance at Rauscher's to benefit the American Hospital at Neuilly.
† little-sight adj. Obsolete rare short-sighted.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > short-sighted
little-sighta1398
purblindc1450
narrow-sighted1593
thick-sighted1593
mope-eyed1606
short-sighteda1649
near-sighted1686
short-eyed1721
myopical1749
myopic1800
myoptic1849
myope1892
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. vi. 183 An yȝe is [perh. read of] litil siȝt..seeþ nouȝt wel afer.
little slam n. [ < little adj. + slam n.2, originally after French petit slaime (see quot. 1839)] Cards (chiefly Bridge) the fact or action of taking every trick but one; = small slam n. at small adj. and n.2 Compounds 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > actions or tactics > tricks or taking tricks
slam1814
little slam1839
book1857
overtrick1885
small slam1887
undertrick1908
heart1909
playing trick1959
1839 tr. G. Deschapelles Treat. on Whist ii. vi. 286 We might write whole chapters on the little slam [Fr. petit slaime].
1899 Denver Sunday Post 12 Mar. 7/5 If a player and his partner make..twelve tricks, they score for little slam twenty points.
1905 H. A. Vachell Hill vii. 144 My partner..made the Little Slam, and scored nearly six hundred below the line.
1978 J. Schuyler What's for Dinner? iv. 55 That's our little slam in hearts, which you doubled and I redoubled.
2013 West Australian (Perth) (Nexis) 15 Nov. 85 We may agree that reaching seven is not all that easy, but when nine out of 16 pairs failed to even bid the little slam surely there is cause for some concern?
† little son n. [perhaps after Middle French, French petit-fils (1563)] Obsolete rare a grandson.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > grandson
neveeOE
daughter sonOE
nephewc1325
nepotea1525
little son1570
grandson1573
neposa1600
petty-son1611
grandboy1837
1570 Mary Queen of Scots Let. 10 July in H. Campbell Love Lett. Mary Queen of Scots (1824) 228 The transporting ȝoure littil son and my onelie child in this country... I have born him,..and of ȝow he is descendit.
little theatre n. (a name given to) a small playhouse or theatre; now spec. an independent theatre used for experimental or avant-garde drama, or for community, non-commercial productions; such theatres collectively, or the type of work produced in them.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > [noun] > other types of theatre
little theatre1569
private house1604
private playhouse1609
amphitheatre1611
private theatre1633
droll-house1705
summer theatre1761
show shop1772
national theatre1816
minor1821
legitimate1826
patent house1827
patent theatre1836
showboat1839
music theatre1849
penny-gaff1856
saloon theatre1864
leg shop1871
people's theatre1873
nickelodeon1888
repertory theatre1891
studio theatre1891
legit1897
blood-tub1906
rep1906
small-timer1910
grind house1923
theatrette1927
indie1928
vaude1933
straw hat1935
theatre-in-the-round1948
straw-hatter1949
bughouse1952
theatre-restaurant1958
dinner theatre1959
theatre club1961
black box1971
pub theatre1971
performance space1972
1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature xxxiv. f. 122v This galland of Verona..made to be set vp a little Theater, to the ende the assistants might behold the experience of his promise.
a1771 F. Delaval Will in S. Rosenfeld Temples of Thespis (1978) vi. 100 I give to my Sister..all the Scenes, Decorations, &c in and belonging to my little Theatre in James Street, Westminster.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 246 His detestation of the mob..has prevented him from going to the Little Theatre in the Hay-market.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. ix. 166 London was rather thin, but however the little Theatre was open. View more context for this quotation
1880 W. S. Rockstro in G. Grove Dict. Music II. 512/2 A rival Opera Company was established at the ‘Little Theatre, in Lincoln's Inn Fields’.
1912 M. B. Leavitt 50 Years Theatr. Managem. xxxvii. 574 ‘Little Theatres’ have for some time been playing important rôles in the dramatic life of Paris, Berlin and London.
1914 Writer's Mag. Jan. 327/2 (caption) The ‘little’ theater movement expanding.
1917 T. H. Dickinson Insurgent Theatre v. 82 The one-act play has been an excellent expedient for the little theatre.
1929 S. W. Cheney Theatre xxii. 501 The little theatres, and the larger community theatres built on the foundations they laid.
1945 Baltimore Sun 21 Mar. 12/3 The performances of Walter Pearthree and Vivienne Shub..are, for the little theatre, brilliant, no less.
1965 E. O'Brien August is Wicked Month ii. 22 She worked for a little theatre magazine.
1973 Philadelphia Inquirer 7 Oct. (Today Suppl.) 49/1 There is only one fully funded..little theatre in the Philadelphia area.
2001 W. Ferguson Generica xliii. 243 I was doing Little Theatre, one-man mime introspectives, some experimental works.
† little-thrift n. Obsolete rare an unthrifty person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > relinquishing > squandering or prodigality > [noun] > squanderer or prodigal > thriftless person
outthrift1534
wanthrifta1586
little-thrift1849
1849 G. P. R. James Woodman I. iv. 75 They cannot be such idle little-thrifts as you make them out.
little toe n. the shortest of the digits of the foot, which is the toe furthest from the great (or big) toe; the fifth toe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > toe > [noun] > little toe
little toeeOE
eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) lxiv. §4. 84 Gif sio lytle ta sie ofaslegen, geselle him v scillinga.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 2057 (MED) Merlin To Aurilis Brosias hadde hert fin And loued better his litel to Þan al þat oþer bodi þo.
a1475 in J. O. Halliwell Early Eng. Misc. (1855) 7 (MED) My schowe byndys my lyttylle towe.
1663 J. Beale Let. 2 Nov. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 160 From my childehood I have a corne on the inside of my little toe, which torments mee, & cripples mee more then some are tormented with their goute.
1706 tr. L. Verduc Manner curing Fractures xlix. 186 in tr. A. Belloste Hosp. Surgeon (ed. 2) The Bone that sustains the great Toe, may be dislocated..and the Sustainer of the little Toe is expos'd to the same hazard.
1853 W. J. Hickie tr. Aristophanes Comedies II. 409 The cross-straps pinch the little toe of my wife's foot.
1903 Lancet 23 May 1440/1 The extreme tip of the little toe gangrened.
2007 Independent 9 Apr. 3/1 Throw into the mix schools of flesh eating piranhas, bloodsucking toothpick fish, giant anacondas and aggressive bull sharks and few would even consider dipping a little toe.
little Turk n. an unmanageable or violent child or youth; cf. Turk n.1 4a.In quot. 1824, used of an adult man with reference to the Turks' reputation for polygamy.
ΚΠ
1824 W. Dimond Native Land ii. i. 29 Zan... Isn't one lady at a time sufficient for you? Cœl. No, child, I've a devouring appetite for the whole sex. Zan. Oh! the unconscionable little Turk!]
1844 W. M. Thackeray Barry Lyndon ii. i, in Fraser's Mag. Sept. 356/2 Was not the estate of his mother entailed upon the odious little Turk, Lord Bullingdon.
1863 W. P. Frith in Autobiogr. (1887) I. xxiv. 351 As to Prince William of Prussia, of all the little Turks he is one of the worst.
1921 L. L. Hope Outdoor Girls at Wild Rose Lodge iv. 36 That little Turk of a sister of yours has done it again.
1956 T. Merton Let. 4 June in A. W. Biddle When Prophecy still had Voice (2001) iii. 123 Sit down, small sir... You wish to be a bishop in this college? Ha, and what does your mother think? Get out of here you little Turk.
1989 M. J. Staples Our Emily v. 65 ‘You little Turk, you rolled me over.’ ‘No, I ain't a little Turk,’ she protested.
Little Venice n. (a name given to) a place, usually a local area of a larger whole, considered to resemble Venice in Italy, for example in canal scenery.esp. in the United Kingdom (the name of) an area of Maida Vale in London bordering on the junction of the Regent's and Grand Union Canals.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > part reminiscent of other place
Little Venice1598
Little Italy1762
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies ii. 223/2 The Cape of Vela by Venezuela, or little Venice.
1745 J. Swinton Trav. Three Eng. Gent. v, in Harleian Misc. V. 331/1 In the Moldau there are two little Islands,..called by the People of Prague..Great and Little Venice.
1760 Crit. Rev. Nov. 344 There are sometimes three or four hundred of them [sc. ants] together in one place, forming a town, which might properly enough be called a little Venice.
1818 tr. J. von Müller Univ. Hist. I. i. vi. 70 A little Venice grew on the cluster called the hundred islands.
1833 W. C. Bryant Prairies in Knickerbocker Mag. Dec. 412 The beaver builds No longer by these streams, but far away..among Missouri's springs And pools..He rears his little Venice.
1890 G. D. Litchfield Little Venice 1 (heading) Little Venice, a story of the St. Clair Flats.
1934 M. Allingham Death of Ghost i. 2 Little Venice [on the Regent's Canal, London] in 1930... The room..took up the entire first floor of the old house on the canal.
1968 Guardian 12 July 20/6 The justices granted a provisional restaurant licence for two barges to be moored..near the lock of the Rochdale Canal... It was hoped this section of the canal..would become a Little Venice patronised by yachtsmen.
2008 Outlook Profit 28 Nov. 65/2 What I liked best at Mykenos is Little Venice, which has bars lining the sea front.
C2. Compounds of the adverb.
a. Adjectival compounds of the adverb.
† little-able adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1829 S. T. Coleridge Let. 5 May (1971) VI. 791 May God bless you, and your little-able but most sincere Friend.
little-haired adj.
ΚΠ
c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 574/18 Comatulus, lytyl heryd.
1973 A. Diakonoff South Asiatic Olethreutini 354 Cucullus long, slender and narrowed, little haired.
2001 Express (Nexis) 4 Dec. 39 Long-running, but little-haired conjurer and gameshow panellist from the Fifties to the Seventies.
little-heard-of adj.
ΚΠ
1787 J. Bentham Def. Usury i. 3 The..little-heard-of offence, of Maintenance.
1838 Chambers' Edinb. Jrnl. 18 Aug. 233/1 Loyalty..—that ancient and now little-heard-of sentiment.
1931 Musical Times 72 217/2 I can trace only one extended pianoforte piece, namely the little-heard-of ‘Ballade’.
2008 New Scientist 14 June 34/1 A second explosion of life called the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, a little-heard-of episode which has been the focus of intense scientific interest in recent years.
little-known adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [adjective] > not known to many
unrife1599
darka1727
little-known1734
best-kept1754
1734 W. Whiston Six Diss. 174 Thence into the Deserts and the rest of the little known Parts of Arabia.
1818 Busy Body 1 Mar. 13 The Isle of Fortune, the situation of which modern geographers place in the little-known seas of the eastern hemisphere.
1894 Pop. Sci. Monthly June 162 That singular and little-known people the Mosquito Indians.
1945 G. S. Dumke Mexican Gold Trail Introd. p. xv Evans' group hired a guide to take them directly west over the barren uplands..by way of a little-known pass called Santana.
2010 Wall St. Jrnl. Mag. Oct. 40/2 This gorgeous white, made from the little-known grapes Godello and Doña Blanca.
little-loved adj.
ΚΠ
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. i. sig. O6 Being ridde of this louing, but little-loued company.
1853 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 248 From a little loved or a distracted home, there go forth scanty alms, or none.
1957 Life 30 Sept. 4/1 To take the pain out of a little loved school subject, television musters marionettes whose comic antics will spark interest in mathematics.
2007 D. Cordingly Cochrane xviii. 313 The little-loved and much-derided Prince Regent..was now ruling as King George IV.
little-seen adj.
ΚΠ
1657 G. Hutcheson Expos. John iv. 59/2 They had much paines, as in plowing and sowing with little seen fruit, but by this they had made the work more ripe for the Apostles.
1898 Echo 7 May 3/5 Probably many ladies who have not heard Mrs. Longshore-Potts..will go to the Lyric Theatre next Monday expecting to see a specimen of the much-talked-of but little-seen New Woman.
2009 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 30 Dec. 10 Working with a cast of largely unknown names..the director..turned this little-seen film into one of the most polished of this year's Australian collection.
little-studied adj.
ΚΠ
1672 A. S. in A. Gray Spiritual Warfare To Rdr. sig. A5 Works have already come forth to the view of the world..upon these two most necessary, but little studied and lesse practised points of Christian Doctrine.
1820 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 11 Among the other Hebrew manuscripts, was a large collection of manuscripts of the Karaite Jews..from which much light might be expected to be thrown on this curious and little studied branch of judaic literature.
1909 N.Y. Times 4 Feb. 8/5 Physiognomy is now a little studied science for the excellent reason that it is not a science at all.
2003 Science 19 Dec. 2040/1 Expect advances in the basic biology of a range of little-studied pathogens that cause diseases.
little-thumbed adj.
ΚΠ
1772 S. Paterson Joineriana II. 53 Baskerville's great bible, little thumbed and bound in blue Turkey.
1880 Library Jrnl. May 149/1 Even Burke, Scott, Edgeworth, Coleridge, Lamb, Macaulay, and the famous names in English literature nearer our own time, have but an occasional dusty and little-thumbed representative in this live collection.
1977 Amer. Hist. Rev. 82 74/1 This..volume would more fittingly be included in the reference room of a research library than in the stacks among dozens of little-thumbed Festschriften.
2006 C. Matthews Welcome to Real World xxv. 92 Beside the bed there's a music score and a little-thumbed Martin Amis novel.
little-travelled adj.
ΚΠ
1799 Monthly Mag. Dec. 903/1 This new and hitherto little travelled walk.
1889 J. J. Hissey Tour in Phaeton 211 A little-travelled land, this.
1953 Changing Times Sept. 12/2 Are little-traveled streets paved with low-cost black topping?
1992 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Oct. 62/1 We found what was left of the old, weathered paddle on the bank of a little-travelled Barrenlands river.
little-understood adj.
ΚΠ
1638 Articles of Enq. & Direct. Diocese of Norwich (new ed.) sig. C Those much disputed, and little understood Doctrines, of Gods eternall Predestination.
1866 Chambers's Jrnl. 22 Sept. 593/1 This Northern Commission may be accepted as a fair specimen of that little understood state of affairs in which many people, for the honour of the thing, give their time and trouble for nothing.
1919 S. Anderson Winesburg, Ohio 13 He was one of those rare, little-understood men who rule by a power so gentle that it passes as a lovable weakness.
2013 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 8 Sept. a1 ‘Imagine your worst headache. It's 10 times worse,’ Bittle said of the effects of hydrocephalus, a strange and little understood condition that afflicts more than 1 million Americans.
little-used adj.
ΚΠ
1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne x. xxxiv. 186 Vp they clombe a little vsed staire.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge I. xxi. 267 She found herself in one of the little-used blind alleys of the town.
1900 Everybody's Mag. 3 585/1 They went to the little-used front door.
2006 J. Updike Terrorist iii. 129 An exertion that reawakens in her little-used muscles the sensation of an exercise.
b.
† little-bless v. [rendering Hebrew bāraḵ ‘to bless’ in its euphemistic sense ‘to curse’] Obsolete transitive to curse.Apparently an isolated use.
ΚΠ
1610 H. Broughton Iob i. 5 It may be my children have sinned, and little-blessed God in their hart.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

littlev.

Brit. /ˈlɪtl/, U.S. /ˈlɪd(ə)l/
Forms: Old English litlian, Old English lytlian, Old English lyttlian (rare), early Middle English litlie, Middle English letil, Middle English litel, Middle English litele, Middle English litle, Middle English littel, Middle English littele, Middle English littlin, Middle English littyl, Middle English litul, Middle English lityll, Middle English lutle, Middle English lutli, Middle English lutlie, Middle English luttul, Middle English lytel, Middle English lytil, Middle English lytle, Middle English 1600s 1800s– little.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: little adj.
Etymology: < little adj.In Old English the prefixed form gelȳtlian to make little, to reduce, to belittle, to dwindle, run short (compare y- prefix) is also attested.
Now somewhat rare.
1.
a. transitive. To make little or more little, to diminish; to reduce in size, amount, or importance; (also) to belittle. Also with †away.In quot. a1225 reflexive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
anitherOE
wanzelOE
lessc1225
slakea1300
littenc1300
aslakec1314
adminisha1325
allayc1330
settle1338
low1340
minisha1382
reprovea1382
abatea1398
rebatea1398
subtlea1398
alaskia1400
forlyten?a1400
imminish14..
lessenc1410
diminish1417
repress?a1425
assuagec1430
scarcec1440
small1440
underslakec1440
alessa1450
debate?c1450
batec1460
decreasec1470
appetisse1474
alow1494
mince1499
perswage?1504
remita1513
inless?1521
attenuate1530
weaken1530
defray1532
mitigate1532
minorate1534
narrow?1548
diminuec1550
extenuate1555
amain1578
exolve1578
base1581
dejecta1586
amoinder1588
faint1598
qualify1604
contract1605
to pull down1607
shrivel1609
to take down1610
disaugment1611
impoverish1611
shrink1628
decoct1629
persway1631
unflame1635
straiten1645
depress1647
reduce1649
detract1654
minuate1657
alloy1661
lower?1662
sinka1684
retreat1690
nip1785
to drive down1840
minify1866
to knock down1867
to damp down1869
scale1887
mute1891
clip1938
to roll back1942
to cut back1943
downscale1945
downrate1958
slim1963
downshift1972
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > disparagement or depreciation > disparage or depreciate [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
low1340
dispraisec1386
minish1402
deroge1427
detractc1449
descryc1450
detrayc1475
dismerit1484
decline1509
vilipend1509
disprize?1518
disable1528
derogatea1530
elevate1541
disparagea1556
detrect1563
debase1565
demerit1576
vilify1586
disgrace1589
detracta1592
besparage1592
enervate1593
obtrect1595
extenuate1601
disvalue1605
disparagon1610
undervalue1611
avile1615
debaucha1616
to cry down1616
debate1622
decry1641
atomize1645
underrate1646
naucify1653
dedignify1654
stuprate1655
de-ample1657
dismagn1657
slur1660
voguec1661
depreciate1666
to run down1671
baffle1674
lacken1674
sneer1706
diminish1712
substract1728
down1780
belittle1789
carbonify1792
to speak scorn of1861
to give one a back-cap1903
minoritize1947
mauvais langue1952
rubbish1953
down-talk1959
marginalize1970
marginate1970
trash1975
neg1987
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > break to pieces, shatter, or burst
to-breakc888
briteOE
to-shenec950
abreakOE
forgnidea1000
to-brytc1000
to-burstc1000
to-driveOE
shiverc1200
to-shiverc1200
to-reavec1225
shiverc1250
debruise1297
to-crack13..
to-frushc1300
to-sliftc1315
chinec1330
littlec1350
dingc1380
bruisea1382
burst1382
rushc1390
shinderc1390
spald?a1400
brittenc1400
pashc1400
forbruise1413
to break, etc. into sherds1426
shattera1450
truncheon1477
scarboyle1502
shonk1508
to-shattera1513
rash1513
shidera1529
grind1535
infringe1543
dishiver1562
rupture1578
splinter1582
tear1582
disshiver1596
upburst1596
to burst up1601
diminish1607
confract1609
to blow (shiver, smash, tear, etc.) to or into atoms1612
dishatter1615
vanquashc1626
beshiver1647
disfrange1778
smash1778
explode1784
bust1806
spell1811
smithereen1878
shard1900
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > reduce in size or extent [verb (transitive)]
thinc900
narroweOE
smalleOE
slakea1300
adminisha1325
minisha1382
reduce?c1400
diminish1417
littlea1500
extenuate1555
enstraiten1590
scantle1596
scant1599
bedwarfa1631
epitomize1630
dwarf1638
retrench1640
stunt1659
to take in1700
belittle1785
dwarfify1816
reduct1819
micrify1836
clip1858
downsize1977
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xv. 448 Gif [þam cyninge æniges willan] wana bið, þonne lytlað ðæt his an[weald] and ecð his ermða.
OE Poenitentiale Theodori & Capitula d'Acheriana (Brussels) in F. J. Mone Quellen u. Forschungen zur Geschichte der teutschen Literatur u. Sprache (1830) 522 Se ðe stale deð, and he to bote gecyrreð symle, he sceal þingian wið þone, þe he abylgð and hit æft agyfæð, þonne lyttlað he ðæt fæsten.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 49 (MED) He litlede him seluen to-foren mannes eiȝen.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 540 Oft ich singe for hom þe more For lutli sum of hore sore.
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xvii. 46 Y shal littelel [prob. read littelen] hem as poudre.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) viii. 6 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 138 Þou liteled him a litel wight Lesse fra þine aungeles bright.
a1425 Of Mynystris in Chirche (Bodl. 788) in T. Arnold Sel. Eng. Wks. J. Wyclif (1871) II. 423 Departing litliþ strengþe.
c1475 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Harl. 642) (1790) 38 Nother marshalls, nother usshers of hall..owe not to little or withdrawe any hole stuffe of fleshe or fyshe.
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 85 Be it put vpon a softe fyr, to þe þrydde party be lytild away.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 75 Oh pray God to little the, to pare off thy superfluities.
1657 T. Manton Pract. Comm. Jude 163 We have littled away all the principles of faith.
1696 [implied in: P. Newcome Serm. Aldenham 16 The Logick of Infidelity, that never wants Objections against Providence, and renders every Objection insuperable, to the littling of God upon all occasions.].
1885 H. H. Richmond Montezuma 134 They could bear To see their monarch littled, and their land Made tribute to a stranger.
1928 T. Hardy Winter Words 194 Can littlest life beneath the sun More littled be?
2002 D. A. Durham Walk through Darkness i. vii. 61 Don't think I'm littling you. That ain't my intention.
†b. transitive. To extenuate (a sin). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate
whiteOE
gloze1390
colourc1400
emplasterc1405
littlec1450
polish?c1450
daub1543
plaster1546
blanch1548
flatter1552
extenuate1570
alleviate1577
soothe1587
mincea1591
soothe1592
palliate1604
sweeten1635
rarefy1637
mitigate1651
glossa1656
whitewash1703
qualify1749
c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 177 So schal þe synful man..jugge hymself to-fore God, not for to litle his synne, but raþer to make it more.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 61 She [sc. Eue] wende to haue lytelyd her synne.
1611 W. Sclater Key (1629) 164 Paul stiles himselfe the chiefe of sinners, imputes the crucifying of Christ to the ignorance of the Iewes; so littleing a sinne more grieuous.
1627 W. Sclater Briefe Expos. 2 Thess. 291 Its natural to most, to little their sins.
2. intransitive. To become little or more little, be diminished; to dwindle, wane.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)]
littleOE
setc1000
wanzec1175
lessc1225
allayc1275
wane1297
slaken1303
disincreasec1374
slakec1380
decrease1382
debatea1400
unwaxa1400
wastea1400
adminishc1400
lessenc1400
imminish14..
aslakec1405
minish?a1425
assuagec1430
shrinkc1449
to let down1486
decay1489
diminish1520
fall1523
rebate1540
batea1542
to come down1548
abate1560
stoop1572
pine1580
slack1580
scanten1585
shrivel1588
decrew1596
remit1629
contract1648
subside1680
lower1697
relax1701
drop1730
to take off1776
to run down1792
reduce1798
recede1810
to run off1816
to go down1823
attenuatea1834
ease1876
downscale1945
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)] > become weak
littleOE
faintc1450
weaken?1541
quail1557
quell1579
faltera1677
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John iii. 30 Illum oportet crescere me autem minui : hine uel him gedæfnað þætte auexe mec uutedlice þæt ic lytlege [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. wanige].
OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) iii. 42 Ðonne clænsað hit ðone muð innan & bið se ece litliende.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Royal) (1934) 11 Ne his makelese lufsumlec ne mei neauer littlin ne aliggen.
c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 38 (MED) Sikere ha beoð..of þulli blisse, þet hit ne me neauer mare lutlin ne wursin.
?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 171 (MED) I werne, i lutle, þer for i murne.
c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 145 His Godhede luttulde not þeiȝ he lowe lihte.
1493 Chastysing Goddes Chyldern (de Worde) vii. sig. Bijv/2 They lityll, & deye by longe contynuaunce of ghostli siknesse.
1886 C. C. Abbott Upland & Meadow i. 7 Things have littled down since I was a boy.
1947 A. B. Guthrie Big Sky xlii. 335 The pain grew and the unbelieving littled and such a misery came in him as the spirit couldn't stand.
1980 R. Hoban in Granta 3 129 If the skyd ben clear it wudve ben the failing moon littling tords the las ¼.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.pron.n.adv.eOEv.eOE
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