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单词 small
释义

† smalln.1

Forms: Old English (Northumbrian)–early Middle English (south-west midlands) smæll.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Icelandic (in a late source) smellr , Norwegian smell , Old Swedish smäl (Swedish smäll , †smell ), Danish smæld , †smeld , all in sense ‘smacking or cracking sound’ < the same Germanic base as Old Icelandic (in late sources) smella , strong and weak verb, Old Swedish smälla , strong and weak verb (Swedish smälla , weak verb, regionally also strong), Old Danish smelde , strong verb (only in past tense smal ; Danish smælde , weak verb, regionally also strong), all in sense ‘to make a cracking sound, to hit, strike’, and also Old English (rare) smyllende (of a rod used in chastisement) that strikes with a cracking sound (see quot. below), use as adjective of the present participle of an otherwise unattested weak Class I verb *smiellan ; further etymology uncertain: perhaps related to the Germanic base of Norwegian (Nynorsk) smola to grind, crush (see small adj. and n.2), or perhaps ultimately of imitative origin.For Old English smyllende compare:OE Prudentius Glosses (Boulogne 189) in H. D. Meritt Old Eng. Prudentius Glosses (1959) 1 Crepantibus sub ferulis : under smyllendum gyrdum. Old English (Northumbrian) smæll, early Middle English (south-west midland) smæll both show Anglian retraction of æ to a before l plus consonant, and subsequent i-mutation (the corresponding form in early West Saxon would be *smiell).
Obsolete. rare.
A smack, a slap; a blow, a stroke. hand-small n. a smack with the open hand.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed encounter > [noun] > battle or a battle > onslaught of battle > shock of onslaught
smallOE
acoupinga1375
copinga1375
coup1523
cope1525
shock1565
encountery1566
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John xviii. 22 Unus adsistens ministrorum dedit alapam iesu : an astod uel ðara ðegna salde dynt uel smæll [OE Rushw. dynt] mið honde uutearde ðæm hælende.
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John xix. 3 Dabant ei alapas : sealdon him hondsmællas uel dyntas [OE Rushw. hondsmællas].
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13503 At þan uorme smællen Romanisce veollen. fiftene hundred folden to grunden.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

smalladj.n.2

Brit. /smɔːl/, U.S. /smɔl/, /smɑl/
Forms:

α. early Old English smael, early Old English smęl, Old English smal- (inflected form), Old English–early Middle English smæl, Old English (rare)–early Middle English (south-west midlands) smeal, Old English (rare)–early Middle English (chiefly south-west midlands) smel, Old English (rare)–1700s smal, early Middle English smalyl (transmission error), early Middle English swal (transmission error), Middle English–1600s smalle, Middle English– small, 1500s smaul, 1500s smaule, 1500s smawle; English regional 1800s– smaal, 1900s– smarless (south-western, superlative); Scottish pre-1700 smal, pre-1700 smallies (plural), pre-1700 smealle, pre-1700 1700s– small.

β. Middle English smaal, Middle English–1700s smale, late Middle English smayl (east midlands), late Middle English smayle (north-east midlands), 1600s smaile; Scottish pre-1700 smaill, pre-1700 smale; Irish English 1800s smaale.

γ. English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s– sma, 1800s– smaa, 1800s– smaw, 1800s– smo; Sc. pre-1700 smaa, pre-1700 smau, pre-1700 smaw, pre-1700 1700s– sma, 1700s– sma'.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian smel of limited size, slender, thin, narrow (West Frisian smel, North Frisian smääl, smeel), Old Dutch smal of limited size (Middle Dutch smal, (rare) smael, also in senses ‘slender, thin, narrow, unimportant, rare, (of a person) of low social status’, Dutch smal), Old Saxon smal of limited size (Middle Low German smal, smāl, also in senses ‘thin, narrow, slender, unimportant, (of a person) of low social status’, German regional (Low German) smal), Old High German smal of limited size, thin, unimportant, base, (of a person) of low social status (Middle High German smal, German schmal), Old Icelandic (rare) smalr of limited size (only in a small number of fixed collocations), Old Swedish smal thin, slender, narrow (Swedish smal), Old Danish smal, (in inflected forms) smaal-, small- thin, slender, narrow (Danish smal, †smaal), Gothic smals of limited size (only in superlative smalists); further etymology uncertain and disputed. In the later periods of the continental Germanic languages the prevailing sense of the adjective is ‘slender, narrow’.Ulterior etymology. An etymological connection (assuming Indo-European movable s- ) is often suggested with one or more of the following: Old Church Slavonic malŭ little (cognate with Russian malyj : compare Malo-Russian adj.), and (perhaps) classical Latin malus bad, evil (see mal- prefix), and also several nouns denoting animals: Dutch maal heifer (compare post-classical Latin mala heifer, reflecting an unattested Frankish word, in an 8th- or 9th-cent. manuscript of the Salic Law), ancient Greek μῆλον small livestock collectively, sheep, Early Irish míl animal, especially a small one, Armenian mal wether. The comparison with the nouns is perhaps supported by the fact that in many Germanic languages the adjective is frequently used to designate cattle; compare also Old Icelandic smali small livestock collectively (especially sheep or goats), cattle, which appears to show an n -stem derivative of the adjective. F. Heidermanns Etymol. Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive (1993) 517–18 argues that this presents formal problems, in that the ablaut pattern suggested by the adjectives (which show lengthened ō -grade) and the nouns (which show lengthened ē -grade) would not be expected in a Germanic formation with an -l- suffix. He instead suggests that the adjective may perhaps be < the same Germanic base as Middle High German smoln to crumble (bread), break into crumbs, Norwegian (Nynorsk) smola to grind, crush, (regional) smol dust, Old Swedish smula , smola crumb, breadcrumb (Swedish smula , †smola ), and (apparently without movable s- ) Old Icelandic (rare) mola to crush into dust, to grind finely ( < an ablaut variant of the same Germanic base as meal n.1), and ultimately < the same Indo-European base as (with dental suffix) Lithuanian smiltis sand, (with different ablaut grade) smėlis sand, and (with velar suffix) Middle High German smelhe unimportant. In this case, the supposed original sense would have been ‘finely ground’. Old Icelandic smár , Norwegian små , Old Danish sma (Danish små ), Old Swedish smar (Swedish små ), all in sense ‘of limited size’, and Old High German smāhi trifling, unimportant, base, abject (Middle High German smæhe ), themselves of uncertain and disputed origin, are probably etymologically unrelated. Form history. The β. forms show reflexes of Middle English open syllable lengthening; it is possible that spellings such as Middle English smal at α. forms may also occasionally reflect a lengthened stem vowel. With the γ. forms compare discussion of the β. forms at all adj., pron., n., adv., and conj. History of specific senses. In sense A. 13b partly (with reference to Celtic languages) after Irish caol, Scottish Gaelic caol, originally denoting a particular consonant quality (already in classical modern Irish), later also with reference to vowels, specific use of caol slender, narrow (see kyle n.2); compare slender adj. 3c. Earlier currency of branch A. IV. is implied by post-classical Latin smalemannus (see small man n., and compare sense A. 18). With small cattle n. at Compounds 4 in sense ‘livestock below the size of oxen’ compare Old English smæl orf in the same sense (see quot. lOE at sense A. 3aα. and compare orf n.1). Use in names. Apparently attested as an Old English male personal name (in form Smala ) from the first half of the 10th cent. Also attested early as a surname, compare e.g. William Smale , Alexander le Smele (both 1221), William le Smale (1294). Such names imply earlier currency of the word used of a person, although the precise sense is unclear, perhaps ‘slender, slim’ (see sense A. 1c) or ‘well below average height’ (see sense A. 3a). Compare also Arnald Smalknit (1229; i.e. knight n.), although this may alternatively show early currency of the sense ‘low or inferior in rank or position’ (see sense A. 18). Also attested earlier as a surname element in Ricardus Smalchaf (1176; compare sense A. 11a), Robertus Smalware (1185; compare small ware n.), Yvo Smelbon (1196), etc. As an element in early place names, the word seems usually to occur in sense ‘narrow’ (see sense A. 2) rather than ‘of limited territorial extent’ (see sense A. 3b), although without detailed topographical information it can be difficult to distinguish these senses. Compare the following attestations in boundary markers in Anglo-Saxon charters:eOE Bounds (Sawyer 298) in D. Hooke Pre-Conquest Charter-bounds Devon & Cornwall (1994) 105 Ðonne from ðyrelan stane up on broc oð smalan cumb, fram smalan cumbes heafde to græwan stane.eOE Bounds (Sawyer 449) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1887) II. 448 Þonne on smalan leage.OE Bounds (Sawyer 898) in D. Hooke Warwickshire Anglo-Saxon Charter-bounds (1999) 9 Ondlong broces on hwitan lege & swa on þone smalan hæð, of þæm hæðe in þone longan dic. A place-name element derived from the early Scandinavian cognate of Old Icelandic smár (see above) is also occasionally attested (in sense ‘of limited size’) in place names of the former Danelaw, as Smausum, West Riding, Yorkshire (a1225; now Smaws), Smathwaitis, Cumberland (c1280; now Smaithwaite).
A. adj.
I. Of no great extent laterally in comparison to length.
1.
a. Of relatively little girth or circumference in comparison with length; not thick, stout, or fleshy; slender, thin. Now regional except with reference to the waist.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xv. 449 Ðæt bið gesælig mon þe him ealne weg ne hangað nacod sweor[d] ofer ðæm heafde be smale þræde.
OE Vision of Leofric in Rev. Eng. Stud. (2012) 63 550 Wæron fægere fingras smale & lange.
a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 207 (MED) Mannes lichame ihalsneð iwis þenne me hine pined mid..smerte smiten of smale longe ȝerden.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 73 (MED) Þi bodi is short, þi swore is smal.
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 33 Wiþ middel smal ant wel ymake.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 48 Fair was this yonge wyf, and ther with al As eny wesele hir body gent and smal.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 460 Smalle, as a wande, gracilis.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Boke yf Eneydos xxix. sig. Hiiijv Her [sc. Dido's] membres..ryght egall in proporcyon..handes soupple and thynne with long fyngers and smalle.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 324/2 Small, lyke a fyne threde or a heare, delye. Small as a woman in the waste or a wande, gresle.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 4 Rapier blades being so narrow, and of so small substance.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. ii. vi. 34 A little skinne..strucke vpon by certaine smal instruments like drum-stickes.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 78 They..prick the Oynion fast upon the end of a small long Stick.
1712 London Gaz. No. 5022/2 An Allowance shall be made..in consideration of wast in reducing the same [‘big wire’] to small Wire.
1779 Mirror No. 25 Now that small waists have come into fashion again.
1818 T. Moore Fudge Family in Paris i Like an hour-glass, exceedingly small in the waist.
1873 J. A. H. Murray Dial. S. Counties Scotl. 171 Grytt stycks an' smaa stycks, lang smaa fyngers.
1904 L. M. Skyrm in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) V. 548/2 [West Yorkshire] A boy came into a blacksmith's shop and asked for a thin piece of iron. The blacksmith said:—‘You go to school till you know nothing. You should say sma.’
1935 T. Wolfe Of Time & River xcvi. 855 It is the time of pitfalls that await the innocent country girl with a whaleboned collar and a small waist.
2007 Grazia 9 July 79 These boy-cut bikini shorts and low-slung belt emphasise Jemima Khan's small waist.
b. Designating the relatively narrow part of the digestive tube that lies between the stomach and the colon, and (esp. in early use) each of the three sections of this (duodenum, jejunum, or ileum); esp. in small bowel(s) small gut(s), small intestine(s).The singular forms small bowel, small gut, and small intestine are now more common in medical and anatomical use when referring to this part of the digestive tube as a whole. [With Old English þā smalan þearmas (see tharm n.) in quot. OE compare in the same sense the Old English compounds smælþearme (neuter), smæl(e)þearmas (masculine plural), cognate with or similarly formed to Old Saxon smaletherme (neuter) < the Germanic base of small adj. + the Germanic base of tharm n.; compare also Old Icelandic smáþarmar (masculine plural), in the same sense.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > intestines > [noun] > small intestines
small gut(s)a1400
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) iii. i. 126 We sceolon etan þæs lambes heafod and his fet and þa smalan þearmas.
a1300 Vision St. Paul (Jesus Oxf.) l. 152 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 151 Ne beo þe þarm ne so smel, Eft heo werpeþ al in al.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 171 (MED) Summe of þese veynes ben maad fast wiþ þe botme of þe stomac, & wiþ a gutt þat is clepid duodeno, & summe wiþ þe smale guttis.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 119v (MED) Þe membris þat bitokeneþ deeþ if þei ben woundid..ben þese: þe bladdre, þe brayn..þe mydrif, and þe smale bowellis.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. bvijv Putt it in a small gut of a Capon.
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) at Lactes Some saye that they bee caules, wherein the small bowelles dooe lye. After other, the small guttes, by the whiche the meate passeth.
1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 31v Somtyme happeneth a restraynt in the small guttes.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. ii. iv. 26 The Guts, or Intestina,..are divided into small and great, by reason of their site and substance, slender or thicker.
1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love ii. 29 I'll give 'em leave to make Fiddle-strings of my small-guts.
1722 J. Quincy Lexicon Physico-medicum (ed. 2) 223 The third and last of the small Guts is the Ilium... The thick and great Guts are the Cæcum, Colon, and Rectum.
1767 B. Gooch Pract. Treat. Wounds I. 116 A total division of the small intestines, is to be looked upon as a mortal wound.
1845 Provinc. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 9 230/2 The small guts [of a man] contained much fœtid air, dark fluid fæces, and a few worms.
1885 T. H. Huxley Lessons Elem. Physiol. (rev. ed.) vi. 161 The rest of the small intestines is no wider than the duodenum.
1910 ‘Westerner’ Handling Hog 9 The object of opening the belly in this way is that the knife does not go inside, and therefore none of the small guts are cut.
1951 G. R. de Beer Vertebr. Zool. (ed. 2) x. 121 In the rabbit the small intestine is over two yards long.
1969 H. Orton & P. M. Tilling Surv. Eng. Dial. III. 384 Q[uestion]. What do you call the small intestines of a pig?.. [Lincolnshire] Small puddings, small tharms, [Rutland, Leicestershire] small ropps, [Cambridgeshire] small guts, [Norfolk] small bellies.
2002 Daily Tel. 11 Oct. 5/5 I have done many endoscopies... We have never had a way of seeing the small bowel like this before, now we can see all 22 ft of it.
c. Of a person, etc.: thin, lean, slender, slim; (also) †graceful (obsolete). In early use frequently in gent and small (also gentle and small). Now regional (chiefly Scottish and Caribbean).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [adjective]
genta1275
smallc1275
slendera1400
slightc1400
gauntc1440
light-bodiedc1487
jimp?a1513
slender-bodied1611
snever1640
slim1657
gend1676
scranky1735
light built1778
sveltea1825
spindly1827
slimmish1841
slippy1883
slenderish1894
slim-down1978
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 204 Þeȝ..lof him were niȝtingale & oþer wiȝte gente & smale.
c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) l. 2513 (MED) He was so smal and so gent, I ne mai loue non oþer.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13138 His broþer doghter, gent and smal.
a1500 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Adv.) (1810) l. 585 The lordes and the lades small That comon wer of gentyll blode.
a1500 Seven Sages (Cambr.) (1933) l. 37 (MED) Ancyllas..An olde man..was bothe small and longe.
?1536 (c1443) Batayll of Egyngecourte l. 28 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) II. 94 Grete well, he sayd, your comely kynge, That is bothe gentyll and small.
1569 W. Wager Longer thou Liuest sig. A.iii There was a mayde cam out of Kent, Fayre, propre, small and gent.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iii. 20 My sister..is as white as a lilly, and as small as a wand. View more context for this quotation
1745 W. Smith Nat. Hist. Nevis ii. 67 Penguins are of two sorts; the small and long sort are too tart for my palate.
1877 J. Hartley Yorksher Puddin' 376 He wor soa small he luk'd like a walkin' clooas prop.
1956 G. S. Morris Kerr's Buchan Bothy Ballads I. 27 Oor bailie's sober, thin an sma', Sideways he's hardly seen ava.
1979 J. J. Graham Shetland Dict. 79/2 Smaa, slim... a smaa ting o lass.
1996 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage (at cited word) You notice how the clothes hangin[g] on me? The sickness make me small.
2. Having little breadth or width in proportion to length; narrow. Now rare (chiefly as a contextual use of sense A. 3) or regional.
ΘΚΠ
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
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > [adjective]
nareeOE
narrowOE
smallOE
straitc1400
near1493
unthick1587
pinching1607
widthless1813
shoestring1878
OE Acct. Voy. Ohthere & Wulfstan in tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. i. 15 Norðeweard, he cwæð, þær hit smalost wære, þæt hit mihte beon þreora mila brad to þæm more.
OE Vision of Leofric in Rev. Eng. Stud. (2012) 63 548 Him þuhte..þæt he sceolde nede ofer ane swiðe smale bricge, & seo wæs swiþe lang.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2926 Scradieð eower sceldes. al of þe smal enden.
c1300 St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) l. 409 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 212 (MED) A brugge þare was ouer þat watur; smallere ne miȝte non beo.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 165 Dido..kutte þe hyde into a þong þat was ful long and ful smal.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 331 Girt with a ceynt of sylk. with barres smale.
1424–5 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 152 Item pro ij payr smale bandis ad ostia in campanili, 6d.
1473 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 16 viij elne of smale rybbanis for the King.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxviiiv Smale pathes that swyne and hogges hadden made, as lanes with ladels their maste to seche.
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. ii. iii. 134/1 The narrowe breadth of one small haire.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 184 Cornwall..waxeth smaller and smaller in maner of an horn.
1683 Dutch Rogue 22 They took Paper, and made it into long small pipes, which they fill'd with Gunpowder.
c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 252 Ye rest is filled with haire, Jewells and gold, and white small Ribon.
1803 J. Plymley Gen. View Agric. Shropshire 339 The small cloth is about one-eighth of a yard narrower than the other.
1855 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes (ed. 3) xvi. 415 His great rough hands fumbling the small tapes into all sorts of un-nautical knots.
1900 J. K. Mumford Oriental Rugs x. 155 Ladik rugs resemble..those of Kulah... The Kulah small stripes, however, are not often found in the Ladiks.
1904 L. M. Skyrm in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) V. 548/2 [West Yorkshire] A house, however tall, would be called small if it were thin or had small girth.
1979 J. J. Graham Shetland Dict. at Smaa A smaa openin.
2005 Computer Buyer May 117/2 Windows' TaskBar may only be a small strip across the bottom of your screen, but it's an invaluable way to navigate your PC.
II. Of limited size or quantity.
3.
a. Of limited size; of comparatively restricted dimensions; not large in comparison with other things, esp. of the same kind; (of a person) well below average height.Also used to qualify such words as dimension, size.
ΚΠ
α.
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. ii. 180 Selle him þonne flæsc etan lytelra wuhta, smælra fugla.
lOE Laws: Forfang (Rochester) i. 388 Forfang ofer eall..fiftyne peningas; & æt ælcon smalon orfe [L. paruo pecore] æfre æt scyllinge penig.
c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 10 (MED) Ha [sc. Death]..kimeð wið a þusent deoflen & euch an bereð a gret boc al of sunnen iwriten wið swarte smeale leattres.
c1300 St. Michael (Laud) l. 686 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 319 Ho-so hath of fuyre mest, he is smal and red.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §21. 13 Euery smal deuysioun in a signe.
1445 tr. Claudian's De Consulatu Stilichonis in Anglia (1905) 28 271 Thi yiftes be not streyned In noon smal boke thei may be writen.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 14 (MED) Take peions and hew hom in morselle smalle.
c1480 (a1400) St. Ninian 1445 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 345 [It was] smallare sum part..þane þe todire leg had bene.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 324/2 Small as a massyfe thing is of quantite, petit.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. vii. 290 Abundance of cattell here are both great and small.
1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe i. 61 How is it possible for one to catch him? he's small and slim, and so will slip and steal away.
1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 184 Their Horses, as I observed before, are but small.
1751 D. Jeffries Treat. Diamonds (ed. 2) 20 Small Stones (which means Stones under the weight of a carat).
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 314 The teeth of wheels, are not in all cases distinguished by that name, though they always are so when the work is small..; but in large works,..they are called cogs.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxvi. 322 A very small comfortable house in Curzon Street.
1849 Hist., Gazetteer, & Directory Northants. 40 A stout man would not marry a small woman, were she ever so rich.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. §627 The smaller bodies attract the larger ones.
1870 G. A. Townsend Lost Abroad vii. 65 The small proprietor and his obese, wheezy wife showed them two breezy bedrooms.
1925 Sci. Monthly Jan. 41 The Symphyla and Pauropoda are the least known of the myriapod orders because of their small size and their light-shy habit of life.
1950 Billboard 21 Jan. 82 Small woman, 40 years of age, under 140lbs., must drive... No drunks wanted.
1998 Cruising World Oct. 100/1 The key is to reeve the halyard as a continuous loop through a small block secured to the deck by a loop of shock cord.
β. c1300 St. Francis (Laud) l. 329 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 63 Wilde foules, smale and grete.a1325 St. Juliana (Corpus Cambr.) l. 154 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 67 An angel wiþ a naked swerd..heu it al to smale pece.c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Sir Thopas (Ellesmere) (1871) l. 1950 Ther spryngen herbes grete and smale [rhyme cetewale].?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 100 Þai hafe twa smale holes in steed of eghen.1488 in J. T. Gilbert Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 494 A dyche of smale thornes and breres.?1518 A. Barclay tr. D. Mancinus Myrrour Good Maners sig. Giv The rauyn neuer shall synge:..lyke other byrdes smale.1562 A. Scott Poems (1896) i. 220 Smaill sweit smaragde.1578 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1899) IV. 52 An ironmonger of smale made wares, videlicet, of nayles, horse shues [etc.].c1625 J. Smith Hist. Bermudaes (1882) 4 Another smale Birde ther is, the which, by some Ale-hanters of London sent ouer hether, hath bin termed the pimplicoe.1678 in G. F. Dow Probate Rec. Essex County, Mass. (1920) III. 204 6 smale bread graters, 8d. p. doz.a1785 J. Hall Stevenson Privy-Counsellor's Tale in Wks. (1795) III. 101 Smale are their feet; each feature, every limb, Lies in the fairest form, and sweetest trim.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) 65 Smaale, small.γ. 1529 Linlithgow Burgh Court 15 Oct. The said candil to haif a smaw weyk.1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 26 Ane proper sterne he saw, That was richt cleir perfite and wonder smaw.1641–8 in Curious Accts. (Edinb. Laing) 12 Sma neles.1745 Scots Mag. June 275 Our ews will wander now, o'erblaw wi snaw, Or wylie Laurie takes them great and sma'.1783 F. C. Waldron Contin. B. Jonson's Sad Shepherd v. 99 Ne'er sal ye find the sma'est spot o' dirt, To 'file yer rainbow-robe, and rigol bright, Or ony gaud wi' whilk ye are bedight!1818 J. Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck I. viii. 134 It is a deep cleuch, wi' a sma' sheep rodding through the linn not a foot wide.1886 J. Hoole in R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester 478 The 'azzle shows its smaw, red flowers Afore the spring's begun.1923 W. D. Lyell Justice-Clerk i. iv. 26 What say ye to a sma' bottle o' sugaralie water?1988 Shetland Folk Bk. 8 14 Da half-cured blue paets wir biggit atil muckle tooties ta dry aff an ta stop dem brukkin doon atil smaa clods an moold.
b. Of a place, a country, etc.: of limited territorial extent.
ΚΠ
OE Laws of Edgar (Nero E.i) iv. v. 210 To ælcere byrig xxxvi syn gecorone to gewitnesse; to smalum burgum & to ælcum hundrode xii, buton ge ma willan.
c1275 ( Will of Bp. Þeodred (Sawyer 1526) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 2 Ic an Osgot þat lond at Silham..and alle þe smale londe þat þereto bereð.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2141 (MED) Loke þat hirde-men wel kepe þe komune passage..to seche eche cite and alle smale þropes.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 483 To thee, that born art of a smal village.
a1425 Dialogue Reason & Adversity (Cambr.) (1968) 11 (MED) Aristotele & Ypocras, men of gret sciens, were of smale townes.
a1500 (?a1425) Antichrist (Peniarth) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mills Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. App. 499 Ye kingis..for youre regnis be but small, cities, castells shall you beffall.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. v. 13 All of them [sc. islands] being but little or small.
1611 Bible (King James) Num. xxxii. 41 Iair..tooke the small townes. View more context for this quotation
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 373 This small City is neighbour to two others.
a1727 I. Newton Chronol. Anc. Kingdoms Amended (1728) iv. 300 By the conquests over Assyria and Syria the small Kingdom of Babylon was erected into a potent Empire.
1793 A. Dalzel Hist. Dahomy i. i. 1 The Dahomans..inhabited a small territory, on the north-east part of their present kingdom.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire I. i. i. 190 Rutland, the smallest of the English counties.
1869 A. R. Wallace Malay Archipel. I. xix. 453 A small country like Holland..having possession of a very small island.
1901 Amer. Hist. Rev. 6 489 Political interference is especially dangerous in a small country with monoculture.
2006 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 3 Sept. (Mag.) 5/1 Small towns are well sketchy.
c. Of a child, etc.: not fully grown or developed; young. Also of a sibling: younger.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > child > [adjective]
smalla1325
impuberala1856
impubic1876
impuberate1880
primary age1893
primary1908
preadolescent1910
subadolescent1910
subteenage1939
rising fives1968
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > [adjective] > younger
small1876
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 656 Of his kin bi his liue-dai:..Wel fowre and .xx. ðhusent men..Wið-uten wif-kin and childre smale.
a1450 York Plays (1885) 140 (MED) Allas, what ayles hym for to spille Smale ȝonge barnes þat neuere did ille?
c1450 (c1398) in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 185 What hathe Cristyne, my doughter smalle, Done with oure goddes?
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) l. 11196 (MED) Children þat ben smale and ȝing, Þat beeþ not i-come to wexing, Þei ben ȝit feble of nature To make any engendrure.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope v. x. f. lxxxvijv He fond a sowe, and her smal pygges with her.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 92 All the worlde seeth so many small children that are orphans, lacking schooling for want of helpe.
1688 Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court Test. 7 Mar. My sone George and my uther foure smal younger children.
1693 W. Harris Exact Enq. Acute Dis. Infants 127 The small Infant..did cry out, How well am I now?
1796 H. Macneill Waes o' War iii. 20 Monster! wha could leave neglected Three sma' infants and a wife.
1876 C. M. Yonge Three Brides II. xv. 292 He still looked on the tall, young man as the small brother to be patronized, and protected.
1903 Daily Chron. 5 Jan. 6/7 In some cases the parents may threaten to leave our employ unless we give work to their small children.
1949 ‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar xii. 100 If he had ever had a small sister he would have liked her to be just like Jane.
1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes (1997) xii. 316 Mam threatens us from the bed that we're to help our small brother.
2002 N. Griffiths Kelly + Victor 10 A family man with two small kids in tow.
d. Of words: short, simple. Also of language: †simple, plain (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > plainness > [adjective] > of words: simple or short
smalla1325
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > plainness > [adjective]
nakedOE
simplea1382
meanc1450
rural1488
misorned1512
inornate?1518
barec1540
broad1588
bald1589
kersey1598
russet1598
unvarnisheda1616
unembellished1630
illaborate1631
severe1665
renable1674
small1678
unadorned1692
inelaborate1747
unlarded1748
chaste1753
uncoloured1845
minimalist1929
spare1965
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 18 Ðan man hem telled soðe tale Wid londes speche and wordes smale.
1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes sig. Biiij The small kynde of indighting, is in a subtile, pressed, and fyled oracion.
1661 J. Burton Hist. Eriander 121 The learned know very well that an exact understanding of the particles and small words is exceeding necessary.
1678 V. Alsop Melius Inquirendum i. iii. 114 As if we were not as much obliged to tell the People their duty, as God our wants in small English.
1798 Edinb. Mag. Aug. 85/2 Latin..has no abundance of compounds, and even a penury of common small words.
1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus i. ii. 33 Your first small words are taught you from her lips.
1874 A. B. Davidson Introd. Hebrew Gram. vii. 15 (note) In continuous discourse small words or words penacute are often attracted to the end of preceding ones.
1928 O. Jespersen Monosyllabism in Eng. 26 We now see the reason why polysemy is found so often in small words to an extent which would not be tolerable in longer words.
1993 R. M. McNealy Making Quality Happen 188 Even our management will understand it, if we speak slowly and use small words!
e. English regional (western) and Scottish. Of a river, water, etc.: low, shallow. Now rare. Sc. National Dict. (1971) records this sense as still in use in north-eastern, central, and southern Scotland in 1970.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > shallowness > [adjective] > more shallow than usual (of any liquid)
lowa1398
scarce1732
small1791
1791 W. Marshall Minutes in Rural Econ. W. Eng. (1796) II. 258 Some days ago,..the water was unusually low—provincially and not improperly ‘small’.
1795 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1971) VIII. at Sma When the water was small, and in droughty summers.
1829 T. Moore Hist. Devon I. iv. i. 355/1 Small, low, shallow: as, ‘a small river’.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) I an't a zeed our water zo smaal, not's years.
4. Little in amount or quantity.
a. Of a material thing or things. Also designating the number, quantity, etc., of a thing or things.
ΘΚΠ
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
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 5394 Ac is gode moder ofte smale ȝiftes him tok.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 972 Qui sal þi parte be sa smal?
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Friar's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 126 My wages been ful streyte and ful smale.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 1340 His wynnyng was in Scotland bot full smaw.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xv. 257 (MED) Thei ete soche vitaile as thei hadde, but it was full small.
1533 J. Heywood Play of Wether sig. Diiii This nomber is smale there lacketh twayne of ten.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 146 Seeing that..the profyte of the Milke is not small.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. ix. 18 This small inheritance my Father left me. View more context for this quotation
1626 in Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS: Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 171 The necessitie of useing some smale quantitie of bay salt therein.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vii. 323 [I did] in all my trauells prosecute the like course of a small diet,..often too small against my will.
1684 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 384 Some small sprinkling of raine.
1738 Bayle's Hist. & Crit. Dict. (ed. 2) V. 579/1 Man is naturally so prone to evil, that except the small number of the elect, all other men live and die in the service of the evil spirit.
1779 Mirror No. 12 I am a plain country-gentleman, with a small fortune and a large family.
1809 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 21 25 This should certainly be the smallest dose I would use in this disease.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 287 The revenue of England, under Charles the Second, was small.
1890 R. Wormell tr. A. von Urbanitzky Electr. in Service of Man 139 The comparatively small currents passing through a single incandescent lamp.
1924 J. B. Cohen Pract. Org. Chem. (ed. 3) 78 The residue is dissolved in the smallest quantity of water.
1957 H. S. Zim & P. R. Shaffer Rocks & Minerals 41 Siderite..is occasionally used as iron ore but deposits are usually small and iron content is low.
2003 E. Powell tr. S. Jamal Arabian Flavours 46 Serve yourself small portions.
b. Of an immaterial thing, such as an action, faculty, feeling, etc.The exact sense varies to some extent with the noun, and in some cases the reference is rather to effect, force, or capacity than to amount.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > small in quantity, amount, or degree > specifically of something immaterial
smallc1330
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 181 (MED) God..wole hem chasten wid smale pining, And maken hem lese þat hote brenning.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. l. 81 (MED) My wittes ben to smale To tellen every man his tale.
c1450 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 71 (MED) A smal conceyt may ryght enogh suffyse, Of your beaute discripcion for to make..ther kan no wyght devyse Oone that therof hath lasse.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xcvi. 118 They..fledde to the market place, but they kept but a small order.
1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Suffolk vi My travayle was not smal.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Kings xix. 26 [They] were of small power. View more context for this quotation
?1697 J. Lewis Mem. Duke of Glocester (1789) 33 His appetite was but small, considering how active he was.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. viii. 141 I had gotten a small Cold.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VII. 262 They consider the loss of them as but a small misfortune.
1810 G. Crabbe Borough xviii. 240 His Spirits low and his Exertions small.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xviii. 170 As culpable as her small faculties enabled her to be.
1902 G. S. Whitmore Last Maori War iv. 44 I was opposed pertinaciously.., and my smallest action criticized with relentless spite.
1997 Time Out 10 Sept. 179/4 Sketches..suffered from a shoestring budget and an even smaller ability to inhabit any character who wasn't a fat, sweary slob.
c. Chiefly of a latitude or playing card: denoted by a number which is among the least of a series; of low numerical value or ordinal rank; low.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adjective] > with respect to size
smallc1400
long1712
numerical1812
fifty1819
normed1935
significant1962
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [adjective] > of specific value in game
small1672
guarded1742
high1742
blank1895
wild1927
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §21. 31 For so gret a latitude or for so smal a latitude is the table compowned.
1579 T. Lupton Thousand Notable Things viii. 191 He shall possesse great rytches, and honors..if that fyxed Starre be of a small Latitude.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. vi. iii. 112 Small Latitudes, or Countreys betwixt the Tropicks.
1672 W. Wycherley Love in Wood i. ii Like the small cards..; when the play begins, you should be put out as useless.
1748 E. Hoyle Games (1778) 94 Three small Clubs or Spades, Queen and two small Hearts, King and one small Diamond. Play a small Trump.
1772 Covent-Garden Mag. Aug. 63/1 If you have ace, king, and three small trumps, begin with a small one.
1863 G. F. Pardon Hoyle's Games Modernized ii. 23 Having only a few small trumps, make them when you can.
1878 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 116 170 The actual distribution at the present time of the aphelia in latitude for known orbits is very nearly as the cosine of the latitude. The principal exception is a slight excess of numbers in the small latitudes.
1892 W. J. Florence Gentleman's Handbk. Poker 91 To keep two small cards and an ace is called holding up ‘a kicker’.
1910 W. Dalton ‘Saturday’ Bridge (rev. ed.) iii. 63 Suppose that he holds ace, king, and three small diamonds, and ace, knave, and two small hearts.
1989 K. Ferrari-D'Occhieppo in J. Vardaman & E. M. Yamauchi Chronos, Kairos, Christos 45 The small latitudes were ignored in Babylonian long-term calculations.
2004 Bridge Mag. Mar. 36/2 A 2-4-4-3 16-count with two small spades.
5.
a. In the superlative with emphatic force: the least; the slightest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > any, however small
eacheOE
anyOE
leastOE
ever anyOE
smallc1330
a blind1938
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 7161 (MED) Þe smallest scale þat on him is No wepen no may atame.
a1530 T. Lupset Treat. Charitie (1533) f. 16 The goodnesse of god, that made all, and that norissheth vs all, not leauynge the smallest gnatte..withoute dispensacion to haue conuenient sustenance.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 159 I will die a hundred thousand deaths Ere breake the smallest parcell of this vow. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 192 Nor from mine owne weake merrits will I draw The smallest feare, or doubt of her reuolt. View more context for this quotation
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. ii. 75 The whorson Rascals have unfram'd and burst me; No limb is sound, no joynt, the smallest rustle Against my body, vexes every muscle.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Apr. (1965) I. 321 I never can forget the smallest of your Ladyship's commands.
1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 382 He risked..life, if he betrayed the smallest suspicion.
a1828 J. Bentham Wks. (1843) I. 240 In the most direct terms, and without any the smallest doubt, disguise, or reserve.
1891 Law Times 91 2/2 The court, without the smallest hesitation, made absolute the rule for a habeas corpus.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 31 July 1/3 The partially manned ships..slipped away to sea without the smallest hitch or fuss.
1998 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 22 Oct. 29/1 Anyone who has had the smallest thing to do with journalists knows that newspaper pieces are not called stories for too little.
b. Only a little or slight amount or degree of (something); not much; hardly any.
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] > not much/hardly any
littleeOE
smalla1350
scant1852
bugger-all1948
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 68 (MED) My gode deden bueþ fol smalle.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Prioress's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 84 I kan but smal gramere.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 442 It schulde not bicome me or eny man, having ful smal witt and discrecioun.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 237 To the quhilk argument jt is sone ansuerd, yat is small deficultee.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Aiiv Some be exellently lerned, and yet haue but small felyng of these thynges.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 35 It wil also grow wel yenough..in any ground with small labour.
a1649 W. Drummond Hist. James V in Wks. (1711) 97 But small Confidence could be long among reconciled Enemies.
a1693 E. Ashmole Hist. & Antiq. Berks. (1719) I. 151 The small need the Lady had of Physick.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 18 They had indeed small Hope of their Lives.
1786 R. Burns Holy Fair xxv, in Poems 52 Sma' need has he to say a grace.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. vii. 96 You do but small credit to your fame, Sir Prior!
1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. x. 619 They had paid small attention to the etiquette of courts.
1874 J. L. Motley Life John of Barneveld I. i. 28 He had small love for the pleasures of the table.
1940 J. Gunther Inside Europe in J. E. Lewis Mammoth Bk. War Correspondents (2001) 240 (heading) Hess would have small chance against such a doughty character as Goering.
1992 T. Enright tr. S. O'Crohan Day in our Life (1993) 24 There were no longer enough scholars..and small hope that there would be ever again.
c. no small: great, considerable, marked; much, a good deal of. Cf. no adj. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > great (of quantity/amount)
greata1325
no smalla1450
round1596
vengeance1602
main1609
vast1637
any1758
right smart1825
high-level1860
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree
greatc1300
no smalla1450
spacious1600
immense1631
far gone1829
strong1897
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 2932 (MED) No smal charche is the soules cure Of al a diocise.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. lv He tooke these newes as a matter of no small momente.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lij The plucking downe of Images, hath procured vs no smale displeasure.
1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events a j b This variety being no small attractive.
?1697 J. Lewis Mem. Duke of Glocester (1789) 49 To the no small joy of the Prince and Princess.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 171 He was so fiercely set on a mis-direction, as to give the girl no small alarms for fear of loosing a maiden-head she had not dreamt of.
a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1771) II. xi. 217 It is no small impertinence to take hold of the attention of others.
1779 Mirror No. 62. 211 There, to my no small surprise, I found the Dean.
1843 T. B. Macaulay Ess. III. 552 There was..no small curiosity to know how he would acquit himself.
1886 Overland Monthly Feb. 190/1 A principle which..was likely to have no small influence on the future of musico-dramatic art.
1910 H. S. Johnson Williams on Service vi. 61 Now, for a young boy, the ranks harbor gins and pitfalls in no small number.
1997 Harper's Mag. Apr. 46/1 I took no small comfort in Winterrowd's mattress-tag analogy.
6. With a collective noun.
a. Indicating the limited size of the individual things, pieces, etc., denoted by the collective word. See also small coal n., small fry n., small print n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > of individuals in collective whole
smalla1398
Mozart-size1959
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. i. 1107 Bestes þat eteþ smalle gras and herbes [L. minutas herbas].
1479 R. Ricart Maire of Bristowe is Kalendar (1872) 83 All smalwodde to be dischargid at the Bak.
c1530 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1842) II. 191 Smal artailyerye powdir and siluer veschel and sic othir smal thingis.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Sam. xxiii. 11 A pece of londe full of small corne.
c1588 R. Persons in J. Morris Troubles Catholic Forefathers (1875) (modernized text) 2nd Ser. 310 A very large narration.., which contained six-and-fifty sheets of paper written..in a very small letter.
1657 J. Rowland tr. J. Johnstone Hist. Wonderful Things of Nature v. xx. 141 The Fig-Tree, saith he, beares small fruit.
1683 T. Tryon Way to Health (1697) iv. 83 No Baker can preserve the pure white Colour in his fine small Bread, if he be not quick about it.
1731 Present State Republick Lett. 7 171 Very often the small Sand which is found at the Roots of Plants enters therein along with the rain Water.
1778 S. Whatley England's Gazetteer (ed. 2) at Lenton Round ore, small ore, and smithum.
1879 London Society Christmas No. 64/1 A brilliant little flirt..who condescended to waste on me a good deal of small artillery.
1893 Spons' Mechanic's Own Bk. (ed. 4) 330 Smaller wood is got from the branches of trees.
1902 O. Wister Virginian xxiv. 227 The quaking-asps..are in small leaf.
1967 H. Orton & M. F. Wakelin Surv. Eng. Dial. IV. 543 Q[uestion]. What do you light your fire with in the morning?.. [Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Cornwall] Small wood.
1997 N.Y. Times 10 June c2/3 More than 100 types of equipment, including..small equipment like power tools.
b. Of money: of little size and low value; consisting of coins of low denomination. Now chiefly in small silver and in small change n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > [adjective] > of small denomination
smalla1400
loose1811
small change1890
a1400 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Egerton) (1927) l. 783 (MED) His Queene y haue..And gold and siluer grete and smal.
1423–4 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1423 §55. m. 31 That the maister of the mynte do smyte..half nobles, ferthynges of goold..so that the commune poeple may have recours to eschaunge for smalle gold and white moneye..For nowe littell or nought of suche small coigne is smyten.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. xxvi. f. xxx/1 He gaue fyue florens in small money at his gate to poore folkes.
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) sig. Diiii Thou hast shewed vs none but small money.
1620 T. Gataker Good Wife 9 in T. Gataker & W. Bradshaw 2 Mariage Serm. The Kings Almoner may cast small siluer about.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 97 This small mony..is troublesome in the telling and handling.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 93 Small Money to make up any odd Sum.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxi. 249 Paid in small Money to discharge the Accounts of the Shoemaker, Taylor [etc.].
1818 J. C. Hobhouse Hist. Illustr. 541 26 pence of the ancient small money (now, worth a carline).
a1894 R. L. Stevenson St. Ives (1898) ix. 65 Here are four pounds of it in..notes, and the balance in small silver.
a1974 R. Roberts Ragged Schooling (1976) vi. 67 Jim removed two shillings in small silver from his left clog.
2003 G. Reger in A. Erskine Compan. Hellenistic World (2005) xx. 348 Some of these payments may have been made in small silver.
c. Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern). Of a family: consisting of young children. Now rare. Sc. National Dict. (1971) records this sense as still in use in Orkney and Shetland, north-eastern, central, and southern Scotland, and Ulster in 1970.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > relationship to parent > [adjective] > consisting of young children (of a family)
small1700
1700 in W. Cramond Church of Aberdour (1896) 42 He being old and his numerous smal family the Session alows £2 18s.
1717 Session Bk. Glasserton MS 17 Dec. in Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) The Session considering that he has a small family of children.
1829 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words (new ed.) (at cited word) In our Northern phraseology, a small family means a family of young children, however numerous.
1834 Rep. Admin. Pract. Operation Poor Laws (House of Commons) App. B. 2 i. 243g/1 Kirkby Lonsdale Township... A considerable loss by the male, he having a large small family.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down Small family, a family of young children.
a1886 D. Grant Sc. Stories (1888) 97 Him that's the faither o' the big sma' faimily in America.
1895 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 422 For the sake of her unborn babe and her large small family.
1951 Buchan Observer 25 Dec. Some o' yer big sma' femlies.
1988 I. Macleod et al. Pocket Sc. Dict. 104/2 A young woman sair hauden doon wi a sma family.
7. Of no great length; short, brief.
a. Of a journey, a distance, etc.In quot. a1859 in extended use: cf. way n.1 12.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > [adjective] > short (of distance)
littlea1387
smalla1398
short1597
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxix. 1381 Al þe forseyde smale mesures..as þe spanne, foote, and pace [MS space; L. passus] and oþer.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1913) II. l. 10137 (MED) Smale jornes they gonne to ryde The contre to Serchen jn that Tyde.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) f. 118v Thou knowest wel the smal distaunce that is betwene Capue and mount Celio.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 781 The souldiers..by small iorneys came at length vnto the citie.
1615 W. Lawson Country Housewifes Garden (1626) 23 I suppose twenty yards distance is small enough betwixt tree and tree.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 12 [A vessel pronounced] not to be fit for her being adventured to Sea..for more than a small tripp.
1724 E. F. Haywood Rash Resolve ii. 98 The Weather favour'd her Design, and it being but a small Walk to Guadalaxara, she easily reach'd it before Sun-set.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. v. 41 At a small distance from the house.
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 540 The nose-bit..is slit up a small distance near the center.
a1859 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1861) V. xxiv. 229 The flesh of wild animals and the green fat of the turtle..went but a small way.
1885 W. K. Clifford Common Sense Exact Sci. (1892) iii. 96 Instead of counting feet we count inches, which are smaller than feet.
1936 E. W. Skinner Sci. Dental Materials xxix. 252 A small length of wire, called the sprue former, is attached.
1993 T. Parker May Lord in His Mercy be Kind to Belfast (1994) ix. 134 He saw his way of life, indeed his main purpose in life, to help his family to climb a small way up the social ladder.
b. Of time, duration.
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
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) viii. l. 642 But a smal sesoun last his prosperite.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxi The duke of Somersets battayl..were wythin a smal season, shamefully dyscomfited.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xv. 16 b Within this small time I indeuoured..to see..the things most notable.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. liv. 7 For a small moment haue I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. View more context for this quotation
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 91 Within a small time he found the Captaines promise and performance different.
1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 25 Their Fragility and small Duration.
1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 27 The small Stay we made here..lost us at least 60 or 70..able Men.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. iii. 41 A letter to compose, about which he wasted no small time.
1874 W. S. Jevons Princ. Sci. (1900) xiii. 299 The duration of the spark was immeasurably small.
1930 J. Dougall & W. M. Deans tr. P. P. Ewald Physics Solids & Fluids v. 262 A small interval of time.
1999 in D. Bolger Ladies' Night at Finbar's (2000) 53 Couldn't ye hang on a small while?
8. Composed or consisting of, containing, few individuals or members; numerically little or weak. Also: †(of years) few (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adjective] > of years
small?a1439
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adjective] > containing few members
littleOE
few?a1425
small?a1439
thin1508
short1681
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iii. l. 2601 (MED) Ten hundred thousand, the peeple was nat smal.
c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 1 (MED) We him amytte..As oure servaunt which hath but yeris smalle Of yowthe yit spent.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 807 Our power is to smaw..To few we ar agayne ȝon fellone staill.
a1569 A. Kingsmill Viewe Mans Estate (1580) xi. 69 Where thei found that sillie Shepherde with his smal flocke.
1595 W. Allen et al. Conf. Next Succession Crowne of Ingland i. 189 He being a child of so smale yeares.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Chron. xxiv. 24 The armie of the Syrians came with a small companie of men. View more context for this quotation
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 28 A small but faithful Band Of Worthies.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 110 A small Party of the Musqueteers followed me.
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall V. l. 185 The right of peace and war is now confined to a small, and the actual exercise to a much smaller, list of respectable potentates.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. at Guard Quarter Guard is a small guard commanded by a subaltern officer.
1874 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. (rev. ed.) Suppl. 1342/2 A small group of plants from New Grenada and Peru.
1889 A. R. Wallace Darwinism 80 Species of large genera vary more than species of small genera.
1930 W. M. Mann Wild Animals in & out of Zoo xv. 190 To the left we saw a small herd of kongoni.
1991 P. Roth Patrimony iii. 93 The small congregation of elderly, local people..were barely able to meet the upkeep costs.
2011 Independent 10 Jan. (Viewspaper section) 12/2 Cloud computing will put huge amounts of power in the hands of a very small group of companies.
9.
a. Constituting a lower standard (of weight, size, etc.) than another having the same designation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > [adjective] > serving as a unit of measurement > standard (of units) > belonging to a lower denomination or standard
smalla1500
subtile1543
a1500 Walter of Henley's Husbandry (Sloane) (1890) 51 (MED) Yeff þe corne be grete & large þen bothe at þe grete bushell and at þe smale bushellis, [etc.].
1573 Edinb. Test. II. 308 in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Smal(l, Sma(w xxxij bollis aittis small mesour.
1589 R. Hakluyt tr. J. Hasse in Princ. Navigations ii. 293 They deuide the small pound into 48. parts.
1640 in J. Entick London (1776) II. 166 Catling, the great gross, qt. 12 small gross of knots.
1660 Act 12 Chas. II c. 4 Schedule at Bosses Bosses for Bridles the small groce, cont. 12 dozen.
1707 Gen. Disc. Weights & Meas. in A. Justice Gen. Treat. Monies & Exchanges 70 Gold and Silver Thread is weigh'd by the Ounce of 132 Carrats, whereas the small Ounce consists only of 120.
1834 Lowndes' Bibliogr. Man. I. 84 Austin's Urania... London, 1629. small 8vo.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. at Long-hundred A hundred of five score is called a small-hundred.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 127 Small post, a size of writing paper, 161/ 2 × 131/ 2 inches.
1906 J. Hyde Bibliogr. Wks. Swedenborg 350 It is written on small post long 4to paper.
1994 Internat. Jrnl. Lexicogr. 7 355 The task..cannot be performed satisfactorily in a small octavo of 246 pages.
b. Falling somewhat short of the proper or usual standard; less than a full (minute, pound, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > smaller than usual or standard size
petty1393
small1525
scrubby1591
undersized1706
underlinga1722
underline1750
under-size1820
manikin1840
underhanded1856
small1877
sawed-off1887
sawn-off1936
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cxx. f. c.xxxvv/2 Tydinges of this dede came to the knowledge of them of Cleremounte, whiche was but a small leage thens.
1613 J. Stephens Cinthia's Revenge iii. v. sig. K2v Desist From a pursuit of such high consequence Not a small minute longer.
1698 tr. F. Froger Relation Voy. Coasts Afr. 47 The island of St. Ann,..from which they are distant two small leagues.
1705 tr. W. Bosman New Descr. Coast of Guinea i. 11 I have travelled above three small days Voyage unon [sic] it.
1753 R. Clayton in H. Maundrell Journ. Jerusalem 18 After an ascent of a small half hour we came to a most delicious fountain of cold water.
1803 W. J. Macnevin Ramble through Swisserland 217 Within a small league of St. Gingou, from a fine chesnut-grove, is one of the very best views of the lake of Geneva.
1882 Gleanings Bee Culture Nov. 537/1 Don't you think that an agent can find, during a whole day, a small minute to..send the parcel?
1907 Irish Monthly Nov. 625 They were things feebler than herself, with only a small hour allotted to them wherein to work their will upon her.
1996 F. McCourt Angela's Ashes 67 That's a very small pound of flour.
c. Of an item of merchandise (esp. a garment): of a size below medium and large, often the lowest available size in a range. Cf. large adj. 5j(c), medium adj. 3c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > smaller than usual or standard size
petty1393
small1525
scrubby1591
undersized1706
underlinga1722
underline1750
under-size1820
manikin1840
underhanded1856
small1877
sawed-off1887
sawn-off1936
1877 Sporting Gaz. 20 Jan. (advt.) Best quality football jerseys. Small, 5/0. Medium, 5/3, 5/9. Largest, 6/3.
1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 283/2 Ladies' combination or union suits..small, medium and large.
1917 Harrods Gen. Catal. 1217 Crosse and Blackwell's Fowl..small tin, 1/6½; medium tin 2/11.
1967 Port Angeles (Washington) Evening News 26 July 5/2 (advt.) Ladies' petite & small shifts..$2.99.
1980 Black Belt Nov. 82/3 (advt.) Ninja Suits... Small..up to 5′6″..Large..over 6′.
2009 Times-Union (Albany, N.Y.) (Nexis) 6 Dec. 10 We ordered a small pizza and a large one arrived.
10.
a. Of a letter: of a lesser size than and often different form from a capital letter, and conventionally used in handwriting, printing, etc., when a capital is not required; lower-case.
ΚΠ
1648 J. Goodwin Νεοϕυτοπρεσβυτερος 121 Whereas they pretend to be the proemiall or initiall letters of a mans Christian name, & Sir-name, they may prove the Epilogicall or small letters of them.
1714 G. Shelley Second Part Nat. Writing (advt.) Books Publish'd and Sold... An Alphabet Book in all the Hands, with great Variety of Capital and Small Letters.
1784 T. Astle Origin & Progress Writing 66 All writing may be divided into capitals, uncials, and small letters.
1841 T. G. Hall Elem. Descr. Geom. 26 The small letters abc, &c., belong to the projections in the horizontal plane.
1889 Harper's Mag. Aug. 357/2 It was many years before the small d headed the word Daguerreotype.
1922 R. Macauley Myst. at Geneva xi. 58 I spelt parliament with a small p, and Mr. Wilbraham said he couldn't send it.
2005 Y. H. af Segerstad in R. Harper et al. Inside Text i. ii. 37 [Text messages feature] emoticons (or smileys)..capitals or small letters only [etc.].
b. Of the initial letter of a word: not capitalized, indicating that the word is a less specific or serious variety of the thing denoted. Cf. — with a capital — at capital adj. and n.2 Phrases 1b, big adj. 4b.
ΚΠ
1883 Mind 8 422 I am quite aware that criticism—‘with a small c’—is easier than construction.
1888 Contemp. Rev. Apr. 560 We who are socialists with a small ‘s’ are infinitely more numerous, and we are more practical.
1902 Western Jrnl. Educ. Dec. 632 If education stands for anything it stands for democracy with a small d.
1952 Observer 18 May 7/6 Back to liberalism-with-a-small-l they trail.
1960 Times 22 Oct. 8/1 A newspaper that is serious, lively, and radical with a small r.
1993 Choir Schools Today Issue 7. 12/2 I couldn't square up my own conservative (with a small c) temperament with my liberal and progressive beliefs.
2005–6 Update Winter 8/3 By focusing on ‘history with a small h’.
III. Slight or light in texture or effect.
11.
a. Composed of fine or minute particles, drops, etc. In later use chiefly of rain and dust (the latter sometimes with allusion to quot. 1611).
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lvii. 437 Swiðe lytle beoð ða dropan ðæs smalan renes, ac hi wyrceað ðeah swiðe micel flod.
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxvi. 86 Genim þonne smæl beren mela.
OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) cxxix. 166 Wið næddran slite genim of ðysse wyrte petroselini swyþe smæl dust anes scyllincges gewihte.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 85 (MED) Þe ilke þe foleȝeð þes fleisces lust Alse deð þet smalchef þe winde, þo scule bileuen in þosternesse.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxx. 36 Whenn alle þou hast poynd..in to most small powder.
c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 53 Take watire and smale salt.
1574 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 406 The exhorbitant derth of small salt within this realme.
1583–4 Reg. Privy Council Scott. 1st Ser. III. 638 Na small salt sould be careit furth of this realme.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) xviii. xi I bett these folkes as small as dust.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xl. 15 The nations are..counted as the small dust of the balance. View more context for this quotation
a1649 J. Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) I. 209 The Rebecka,..two days before, was frozen twenty miles up the river; but a small rain falling set her free.
1666 Philos. Trans. 1665–6 (Royal Soc.) 1 227 We saw a stream, rather darkish, than luminous, arising, like a very small dust, from the fish.
1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 177 Thick Fogs with small Rain.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxii. 262 A small Rain happened to fall that damped my Powder.
1787 G. Greive tr. F. J. de Chastellux Trav. N.-Amer. I. 357 But I regretted most that the snow, or rather small hail that drove against my eyes, prevented me from seeing the country.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. i. 11 Heaven, who works by the tempest as well as by the soft small rain.
1865 tr. E. Erckmann & P. A. Chatrian Waterloo xii. 124 A small rain dripped against the windows.
1901 Music Aug.–Sept. 262 Ratios, pitches, kinds of notes are but as the very small dust of the balance to him.
1903 J. Miller As it was in Beginning 50 He seemed to hear her tears..gently fall, as falls the dew—The still, small rain of summer morn.
1998 M. Cadnum In Dark Wood 139 A drizzle began to fall, a small rain that made the band of men and women huddle in their cloaks.
b. Relating to, made from, or rendering a substance composed of minute particles; fine as opposed to coarse. Now rare.
ΚΠ
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxviii. 94 Ascaf þa ytemestan rinde & swiðe smale gecnuwa, asift smale þurh smæl sife.
lOE Royal Charter: Edward the Elder to Bp. Denewulf (Sawyer 385) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 38 Ælce geare to þære edmeltide þæt mon geselle..tu hund greates hlafes & þridde smales.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3138 Wyþ fair flour y-maked of whete & wyþ bred and flechs & wyn, & oþre vytailles smale & grete.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 226 (MED) As smylt mele under smal sive smokez forþikke.
c1450 tr. Secreta Secret. (Royal) 32 Some metes are smale, and some metes are grete, and some are mene. Smale metis engendren good and clere blood, as bred of good whete, Chekenys, Eggis, hennes.
c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) l. 228 (MED) An hawberk bryȝt..rychely was a-dyȝt Wyth mayles þykke and smale.
a1589 L. Mascall Bk. Fishing (1590) sig. f3 They vse such nets with small mesh, that kils all fish afore they come to any growth.
1644 K. Digby Two Treat. xi. 86 These extreme subtile bodies do penetrate all others..; and do runne through them, as sand doth through a small sieue.
1742 London & Country Brewer (ed. 4) i. 72 If high dried, a gross Grinding is best, otherwise a smaller may be done.
1856 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. (new ed.) I. 193 This is to be done by sieves just smaller in the mesh than the size of the grain.
1891 R. P. Chope Dial. Hartland, Devonshire Small-sieve, a fine-meshed wooden sieve used in Rewing.
1939–40 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 601/1 Each Seine [net] is fitted with a suitable purse of small mesh.
†c. Of air: thin, rarefied. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > air > [adjective] > specific qualities of (the) air > thin or light
smalla1398
subtlea1398
rarefied1523
subtile1590
thin1667
volatile1698
ambient1763
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. xlv. 718 Ayre is..in downes..more smalle and cleere þanne in valeyes.
12. Of cloth, yarn, garments, etc.: fine in texture or structure. Now rare.In the case of cloth it is sometimes difficult to decide whether examples belong to this sense or to sense A. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > other
smalleOE
lightc1230
round1402
side-necked1430
wanton1489
Spanish1530
tucked1530
lustya1555
civil1582
open-breasted1598
full1601
everlasting1607
sheeten1611
nothinga1616
burly1651
pin-up1677
slouching1691
double-breasted1701
negligée1718
translated1727
uniform1746
undress1777
single-breasted1796
unworn1798
mamalone1799
costumic1801
safeguard1822
Tom and Jerry1830
lightweight1837
fancy dress1844
wrap-1845
hen-skin1846
Mary Stuart1846
well-cut1849
mousquetaire1851
empire1852
costumary1853
solid1859
spring weight1869
Henri II1870
western1881
hard-boiled1882
man-of-war1883
Henley1886
demi-season1890
Gretchen1890
toreador1892
crossover1893
French cut1896
drifty1897
boxy1898
Buster Brown1902
Romney1903
modistic1907
Peter Pan1908
classic1909
Fauntleroy1911
baby doll1912
flared1928
flare1929
tuck-in1929
unpressed1932
Edwardian1934
swingy1937
topless1937
wraparound1937
dressed-down1939
cover-up1942
Sun Yat-sen1942
utility1942
non-utility1948
sudsable1951
off-the-shoulder1953
peasant1953
flareless1954
A-line1955
matador1955
stretch1956
wash-and-wear1959
layered1962
Tom Jones1964
Carnaby Street1965
Action Man1966
Mao-style1967
wear-dated1968
thermal1970
bondage1980
swaggery1980
hoochie1990
mitumba1990
kinderwhore1994
the world > matter > constitution of matter > other specific kinds of texture > [adjective] > fine
smalleOE
subtlea1382
subtilea1398
finec1400
tearc1400
delicate?a1425
fine-spuna1555
filmy1604
cypress1605
thin-spun1638
curious1665
filmlike1804
feathery1864
pinpoint1899
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [adjective] > thin, light, or delicate
lightc1230
small1473
cypress1530
sheer1565
sleazy1670
zephyr1809
slim1813
arachnean1854
spring weight1869
chiffon1890
frothy1901
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [adjective] > fine
smallc1540
superfine1706
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxvi. 354 Ða fæmnan,..swa oft swa hio æmtan habbað,..hio smaelo hrægel [L. subtilioribus indumentis] weofað & wyrcað, mid ðæm hio..hio siolfe frætwað in bryda onlicnesse.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 163 His alter cloð [is] great and sole, and hire chemise smal and hwit.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 401 (MED) Þei schal were no manere furres, ne lynnen cloþ, ne wollen þat is smal and softe as stamyn [L. staminum], neiþer breches, but in þe wey.
1473 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 13 xiij elne of smale Hollande clath for iij sarkis and a curche.
1488 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 150 For viij elne of small braide clayth to be sarkis to the King.
c1540 J. Bellenden in tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. sig. Bvj In the vale of Esk is sa quhit and small wol, that it hes na compair in Albioun.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iv. xi. 123 b They bring..smal clothes of diuers sorts and colours..from..Cambaye and Ormmus.
1637 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 169 There is some sixe and thirtie grosse of small yarne.
1696 R. Howlett School Recreat. (new ed.) 30 Wrap up the Composition in Linnen Rags or fine Paper, to the quantity of a Walnut, bind them with small Thread, and prick holes in the Rag or Paper with a Bodkin.
1737 S.-Carolina Gaz. 8 Dec. 3/1 Just imported per Capt. Nicholson, from London, and to be sold by Jonath: Scott, good gulix, bagg & small thread hollands.
1836 Sat. Mag. 24 Dec. 248/1 The warp of the web is made of small yarn.
1904 Eng. Dial. Dict. V. 548/1 Small weft, a very fine sort of yarn. Lanc[ashire].
1987 C. Samuel Raven's Tail 113 Two very small weft yarns are used together.
13.
a. Of sound or the voice: gentle, low, soft; of little power or strength; not loud, harsh, or rough. Occasionally also: thin, shrill.Usually indicating either low pitch or low volume or in some cases both. in a small voice: frequently indicating that the speaker is downcast, chastened, or humiliated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > faintness or weakness > [adjective]
smalleOE
stillc1000
softc1230
dim1398
lowc1400
obscure?a1450
basea1500
remiss1530
indistinct1589
demiss1646
faint1660
murmurant1669
faintish1712
slender1785
under1806
unclamorous1849
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > pleasantness of sound > [adjective] > gentle or not harsh
smalleOE
softc1230
gentle1548
softly1576
melting1585
mellow1650
dulcified1684
tender1709
silken1785
smooth1836
velvety1896
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > pleasant > soft or gentle voice
stillc1000
smalla1325
lowc1400
submiss1585
feigning1600
submissive1632
summiss1742
submitted1806
cushioned1909
eOE [implied in: King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lxiii. 461 Ac ðonne hit nealæcð dæge, ðonne singð he [sc. the cock] smælor & smicror. (at small adv. 2a)].
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4056 Luue[li]ke and wið speche smale, To wenden hem fro godes age.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 174 He syngeth in his voys gentil and smal.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 688 A voys he hadde as smal as hath a Goot.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. xxviij/1 After the stroke of the fyre descended a swete sowne of ayer softe and smalle.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Vox tenuata, a small voyce.
1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales i. viii. 15 The soldiers gaue eare vnto all this with silence, or with a small murmuring.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Kings xix. 12 After the fire, a still small voice. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ I. ii. xviii. 319 They..proposed their Question, in a small, whispering Voice.
c1751 T. Gray Elegy in Poems (1966) 40 In still small accents whisp'ring from the Ground.
1753 J. Collier Ess. Art of Tormenting ii. ii. 132 Throw a languidness into your countenance; let your voice grow small.
1783 J. O'Keeffe Son-in-Law ii. i. 36 You know him, the Italian Opera singer, speaks in a small tone like a woman.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxxviii So still was it, that he could hear the small crumbling sound of the dying embers as they decomposed.
1880 R. Broughton Second Thoughts I. i. xii. 217 ‘Thank you,’ she says, in a small voice.
1944 Life 17 July 80 The admiral made a small sound that was half a growl and half a laugh.
1992 BBC Music Dec. 68/2 Lamon's relatively small tone means that her instrument blends in with the ensemble.
2004 N. Govinden We are New Romantics 24 ‘Sorry, Amy. I thought there were signs’, he said in a small voice, puppy-dog eyes peeping out from a crestfallen head.
b. Of a vowel: narrow, close; (in Gaelic phonology) designating the vowels e and i, and certain consonants when in contact with these; slender. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of
openeOE
sharp?1533
simple1582
small1599
soft1625
obscurea1637
round1710
slender1755
close1760
wide1824
lowered1836
narrow1844
labialized1856
orinasal1856
central1857
reduced1861
free1864
high1867
low1867
mid1867
mixed1867
rounded1867
unrounded1871
raised1876
unreduced1894
obscured1897
spread1902
lax1909
slack1909
tense1909
centralized1926
flat1934
r-coloured1935
checked1943
1599 R. Percyvall & J. Minsheu Spanish Gram. 6 E..in Spanish..must neuer be so small as the English ee, as fee, wee.
1707 E. Lhuyd Archæologia Britannica 299 That as the Vowels are divided into Broad and Small; so the Diphthongs and Triphthongs ending in a, o, or u, are Broad; and those in e or i Small.
1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ II. at E The next small vowel e.
1801 A. Stewart Elem. Galic Gram. 20 They [l, n, r] have the small sound when..they are preceded or followed by a small vowel.
1830 J. Macleod & D. Dewar Gael. Dict. at Leathan Upon the same principle, the rule ‘Caol ri caol’ regulates the small vowels.
1909 Celtic Rev. 6 9 A broad or a small vowel..was inserted before the final consonant.
14.
a. Of low alcoholic strength; light, weak.
(a) Of a specific liquor, such as ale, wine, etc., or a diluted form of one of these. See also small beer n. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [adjective] > weak or diluted
smallc1420
thinc1440
single1483
watered1540
smally1577
distempered1743
shilpit1814
seven-water grog1834
three-water1840
two-water1905
c1420 in C. Innes Liber S. Marie de Calchou (1846) II. 451 It is gud to..drynk tysan or in the hete smal ale & thyn.
a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 124 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 116 (MED) Take fyges and boile hem tendre in smale ale.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 460/2 Smal wyne, villum.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Gouernaunce of Princis (1993) xxxiii. 110 Thou sulde..drink of a fyne small plesand wyne.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 274 O ȝe heremytis..That..drinkis no wyne confortative Nor aill, bot that is thin and small.
c1525 J. Rastell Of Gentylnes & Nobylyte sig. C2 I ete broun brede and drynk small drynk.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Ovv Their vynes bryngeth forthe but temperate & small wynes, as reed, claret, & whyte.
1605 London Prodigall i. ii Let me haue sacke for vs old men: For these girles and knaues small wines are best.
1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies Ded. sig. A3 It being at best, like small Wines, to be Drunk out upon the Place.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) II. 336 If your Fruit be unripe, or your Cyder small.
1732 J. Arbuthnot Pract. Rules of Diet i. 270 Small Ale without Hops.
1769 W. Buchan Domest. Med. ii. 173 His drink may be small negas..and sometimes a little weak punch.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. I. 129 The diet should consist of..small brandy-and-water.
1864 Daily Tel. 17 Mar. Customers, who had contrived to make themselves uncommonly merry with pots of the smallest ale.
1879 R. L. Stevenson Trav. with Donkey 33 The wine is of the smallest.
1907 Nelson's Encycl. (rev. ed.) III. 135/3 Cider made from the juice thus obtained is low in alcoholic content and of poor quality and is sometimes referred to as ‘small cider’.
1926 A. Huxley Ess. New & Old 17 The red wines of Carthage are really delicious, and even the smallest of vins ordinaires are very drinkable.
1927 J. Buchan Witch Wood xii. 195 Let him drench his system with small ale.
1992 A. Kurzweil Case of Curiosities ii. 10 Madame Page mixed unidentified pinches, drams, and sprigs of vegetable matter into a gallon of small ale.
†(b) Of any drink, beverage, or liquor (sometimes with reference to a non-alcoholic drink). Obsolete.In quot. a1500 of water in contrast to spirit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > [adjective] > weak or diluted
smalla1500
weak1600
a1500 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Ashm.) f. 55v The better therfore shall be solucon Then iff yu dyd wt water small.
?1543 T. Phaer tr. J. Goeurot Regiment of Lyfe xii. f. lxvv To abstayne from all kyndes of wyne, and to vse hym selfe to small drynke.
1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke i. x. 11 For drinke let him vse water only, if he hath been accustomed thertoe, and can well bear it, otherwyse giue him small drinke.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §394 By Making Drinks, Stronger, or Smaller with the same Quantity of Mault.
1675 E. Wilson Spadacrene Dunelmensis 86 Stronger Stomachs must be content with smaller Beverages, and Wine diluted.
1705 London Gaz. No. 4108/3 16 Tuns, and 2 Hogsheads of Small Beveridge and Anjue Wine.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. liii. 205 Cheated by a stronger liquor, for a smaller.
1822 J. Johnson in J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 558 Encouraging the eruption, by taking small warm liquors, as tea, coffees, wine whey, broth, and nourishing meats.
†b. Of a liquid mixture generally: weak, thin. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > [adjective] > specifically of liquids
smallc1500
weak1600
the world > matter > liquid > [adjective] > qualities of liquid > not viscous, thin
thina900
subtlea1398
smallc1500
flexible1612
short1612
agilec1635
skinking1786
inviscid1913
c1500 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 77 (MED) Too partes of the Iuce, the third of galle, Mellyd smal, and warme with-alle.
1607 J. Marston What you Will iv. i. sig. F4 Lamp oyle, watch Candles, Rug-gownes & small iuice.
1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. 488 His drink was decoct. sarsæ [sarsaparilla], but so small, as it was little better than water.
1722 D. Turner Art of Surg. I. v. 384 Let him be fed with thin Panada, Water and Barly-grewels, Chicken or other small Broath, Harts-horn Jelly, sometimes a rear poach'd or a new laid Egg.
1747 J. Wesley Primitive Physick 65 The leaves of it boil'd in small Broth.
1849 W. Carleton Tales & Sketches Irish Peasantry (new ed.) 150 A wan-grace is a kind of small gruel or meal-tea sweetened with sugar.
15. Of a wind: light, slight, gentle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [adjective] > gentle
plaina1425
small1542
soft-footed1603
supple1648
favonian1656
zephyrian1661
slack1670
zephyrousa1750
zephyry1791
zephyrean1793
1542 N. Vyllagon Lamentable & Piteous Treat. in Harleian Misc. (1808) I. 235 A smal and softe wynde.
1597 W. Burton tr. Achilles Tatius Most Delectable & Pleasaunt Hist. Clitiphon & Leucippe ii. 30 When there is a small winde, you shall heare it [sc. a river] yeelde a sound like vnto a viole.
1671 tr. R. Fréjus Relation Voy. Mauritania 9 We held on our course..with a small West-wind.
1698 tr. F. Froger Relation Voy. Coasts Afr. 154 We had a small gale that was favourable enough.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. iv. 162 A small breeze springing up from the W.N.W.
1787 E. Irwin Series Adventures Voy. up Red-sea (ed. 3) II. 375 A small breeze sprang up in our favor, and carried us along the shore.
1802 M. Cutler Jrnl. 11 May in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) II. 108 Small wind, nearly ahead.
1865 G. M. Horton Naked Genius 115 Without a small breeze to revive them, They toiled in the sun-melting dell.
1941 N. M. Gunn Silver Darlings xvi. 335 They shipped the oars, as a small breeze cooled them off Tiumpan Head.
1990 J. Welch Indian Lawyer 282 A small wind had kicked up and Peters buttoned his parka up to his neck.
16. Of a pulse: having little force; = weak adj. 12d. Now rare and chiefly archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered pulse or circulation > [adjective] > small or weak pulse
small1564
empty1654
formicating1684
weak1700
formicant1707
thready1753
weakish1809
formicative1822
thread-like1825
shabby1843
wiry1897
1564 P. Moore Hope of Health i. vii. f. xiiij Much fatnes without sound fleshe. The pulse small, slowe, seldome, & softe.
1568 G. Skeyne Breue Descriptioun Pest v. sig. A7 Frequent puls small & profund.
1612 tr. J. Guillemeau Child-birth ii. xi. 132 And finding her pulse very weake and small, as also the woman depriued of all sence and motion, at the first he was somwhat fearefull.
1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia Isagoge sig. E5v Fear..causeth loosenesse, resolution of the muscles, and sometimes death with a small pulse.
1756 Philos. Trans. 1755 (Royal Soc.) 49 50 The pulse small, the mouth and tongue foul.
1797 Monthly Mag. 3 230 A quick and small pulse.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. II. 25 A full and a small pulse may be distinguished with almost as much ease as any other property it possesses.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 849 The pulse is small, rapid, and thready.
1913 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 13 510 In typhoid fever, if she lacks knowledge of..the small wiry pulse..then she is a menace to that case and a danger to the physician.
1973 J. G. Farrell Siege of Krishnapur xiii. 176 The pulse was small and frequent, the smell from the mortifying parts was particularly offensive.
IV. Inferior in rank, importance, or moral status.
17. Of a thing: of little or minor consequence, interest, or importance; trifling, trivial, unimportant. Now only in small morals n. at Compounds 4. [In quot. 1484 after Middle French menu unimportant (see menu n.); compare R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues (1611): ‘Menues pensées,..idle, priuate, or prettie thoughts.’]
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
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 240 Vch god werch wescheð smele sunnen.
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 870 (MED) Þere shal ben irekened al Þat euere distu, gret and smal.
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. vii. l. 1579 Ȝe seken ȝoure gerdouns of þe smale wordes of strange folke.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 5702 Noght anly of gret dedes of elde, Bot of smale dedes of þair yhouthe.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 8 Thus lerned he þe smale scienses, as spellyng, reding and constrewyng.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) cxxx. 172 She shalle euer be in Melancolye and in smalle thoughtes [Fr. menus pensiers].
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 196 Think that small partis makis grit seruice.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 8 He..conferred the same vnto the Normanes and that for very small and light causes.
1624 J. Donne Deuotions xii. 293 We haue heard of death, vpon small occasions, and by scornefull instruments.
1734 H. Fielding Intrig. Chambermaid i. iv. 8 She sent me, Sir, of [= on] a small Message to you.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. i. iii. 24 And then walk majestically out again, to embroidery, small-scandal, prayers, and vacancy.
18. Of a person.
a. Low or inferior in rank or position; of little importance, authority, or influence; common, ordinary. Now somewhat rare.In early use with reference to military importance.
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
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10880 His smale uolc he setten alle bi weste. siden.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 220 Al þat smale mon-kun he dude ȝeond þea muntes.
1384 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 25 (MED) For whiche wordes..the dissension ys arrise betwene the worthy persones & the smale people of the town.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 6814 Bailifs bedels..lyuen wel nygh by Rauyne The smale puple hem mote enclyne And they as wolues wole hem eten.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) ix. 569 His small folk gert he ilk deill Vith-draw thame till a strate neir by.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) viii. 187 All the small people had ben all dead for hungre.
1517 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 397 That every tope man paye xl.s. and every small man xx.s.
1561 N. Winȝet Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 6 The smallaste ane that sall perise throw ȝour negligence.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. i. 129 Your Enemies are many, and not small . View more context for this quotation
1713 R. Steele Importance of Dunkirk Consider'd in Polit. Writ. (1715) 23 You will find your Humble Servant no small Man, but spoken of more than once in Print.
1795 J. O'Keeffe Life's Vagaries ii. i. 22 Well, a small man taken up, doesn't cut such a pitiful figure, as a great man taken down.
1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter III. vii. 178 At dinner some of the smaller neighbours were invited.
1863 D. M. Mulock Mistress & Maid xxii She was altogether a very great lady, and Hilary..felt an exceedingly small person beside her.
1943 Life 23 Aug. 29/3 The small people at Licata have not been getting their rations.., while the families and personal friends of local officials have been getting all they want.
2010 tr. J. Rancière Chron. Consensual Times 137 Historical fiction..shows us the great deeds of history through the perspective of the small people.
b. Having only a little land, capital, etc.; dealing, doing business, etc., on a small scale.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [adjective] > small scale
small1746
boutique1968
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > non-manual worker > businessman > [adjective] > engaged in business on small scale
small1746
1663 F. Philipps Antiq. Præ-emption & Pourveyance for King vi. 329 It being commonly in every County charged onely upon the Lands of inheritance of the greater size or quantity, (not upon Copyholders or small Freeholders).
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles i. vii. 99 Philip next Morn our honest Pedlar found, Dealing his Iron Merchandise around To his small Chaps.
1773 J. Arbuthnot Inq. Present Price Provisions i. 18 No small farmer can raise pigs and fowls in the same district at so low a price as butcher's meat.
1833 C. F. Hoffman Let. 15 Nov. in Winter in West (1835) I. 92 They were chiefly plain people, small farmers and graziers.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. ix. 480 Two beasts, such as the small yeomen of that time were in the habit of riding.
1850 C. Kingsley Alton Locke II. xi. 154 In helping to pass the Reform Bill, [they had] only helped to give power to the two very classes who crushed them—the great labour kings, and the small shopkeepers.
1872 Scribner's Monthly June 202/2 Great newspapers are neither built up nor maintained by small business men.
1931 V. Woolf Waves 255 How comforting it is to watch the lights coming out in the bedrooms of small shopkeepers on the other side of the river.
1974 Times 12 Nov. 14/2 The Smaller Businesses Association..set up to champion the interests of the small business man.
2007 Computer Weekly 10 Apr. 1/2 There are fears that many smaller retailers..will not be ready for the 30 June deadline.
19.
a. Of minor rank, note, or importance, as regards a specified office, function, etc.
ΚΠ
1348 in C. Welch Hist. Pewterers of London (1902) I. 4 None of the crafte, grete ne smale, purloine othirs alowes..afore he haue fulli serued his terme.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 27 (MED) Þe smale kynges of þe lond all were þei comen.
a1450 (a1397) Prol. Old Test. (Harl. 1666) in Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (1850) i. 1 Alle these xij. smale prophetis ben o book.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 119 The autoritee of the grete officer..gerris cess the autoritee of the smallare officer.
1588 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1881) 1st Ser. IV. 311 The small barronis and freehaldaris of this realme.
a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 57 The haill bischopis pryouris and wther small preistis.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist i. ii. sig. B4v A speciall Gentle, That..Consorts with the small Poets of the time. View more context for this quotation
1688 in H. Paton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1932) 3rd Ser. XIII. 348 The commissioners..did cast ane cast of the small heretors.
1762 C. Churchill Ghost iii. 95 Confine thy rage to weaker slaves, Laugh at small Fools, and lash small Knaves.
1765 T. Gray Shakespeare in Corr. Gray & W. Mason (1853) 339 6 Fumbling baronets, and poets small.
1826 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey I. ii. xiii. 186 A small litterateur and smaller wit.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xix. 260 All their confederates, from Cæsar..down to the smallest Margrave.
?1973 A. Thwaite in P. Larkin Further Requirements (2002) ii. 101 The whole thing somehow disintegrates into a lot of nice amiable small poets.
2008 R. Scheck Germany, 1871–1945 ii. 10 The German regions were already in economic decline, worsened by the notorious rivalry of the small princes.
b. That is (what is indicated by the noun) to a small or limited extent, degree, etc.Sometimes used to suggest the converse of the noun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > low in degree or intensity > that is such to a small degree
small1523
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cccxxxii. 519 He was but a small gentylman,..for a very gentylman wyll neuer set his mynde on so euyll an entent.
1567 W. Allen Treat. Def. Priesthod 207 Where there is nowe putte no difference betwixte small offendours and moste greuouse sinners.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 71 Zenall Chawn..(our small friend, at our being in his Citie).
1653 H. Cogan tr. N. N. Scarlet Gown 125 They were but small friends to Pamphilio, and as such, they shewed themselves obstinate against his elections.
1739 J. Bancks Short Crit. Rev. Polit. Life O. Cromwell 100 Those to whom publick justice had been done..were in comparison but small offenders.
1837 S. Remington Anti-Universalism 67 The young and comparatively small transgressor, who has not become hardened in crime.
1937 ‘G. Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier vi. 93 This man happened to be a small smoker, but even so his tobacco would hardly cost less than a shilling a week.
1939 M. Spring Rice Working-class Wives vi. 130 I am a small eater.
2010 M. Sares Pure Scum 167 You think you're a small sinner, like I was at eighteen and nineteen years old.
†c. Preceded by no negating the whole expression, in emphatic use (cf. no adj. 2a). Esp. in no small fool: no fool, a person of wisdom. Obsolete.Distinct from use (with a noun of any kind) where the adjective only is negated, giving the sense ‘great’ (cf. sense A. 5c and no adj. 3).
ΚΠ
?1527 J. Skelton Agaynste Comely Coystrowne Nay iape not with hym he is no small fole.
1534 N. Udall Floures for Latine Spekynge gathered oute of Terence f. 140v Haud stulte sapis. You are no smalle foole.
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Uij I knewe one in my life, & that no smal birde, which was better learned then wise.
1657 P. Heylyn Ecclesia Vindicata i. i. 78 This Master Cook..was apt enough to think himself no small fool at a joynt of Divinity.
c1680 E. Hickeringill Hist. Whiggism i, in Wks. (1716) I. 37 M. Tantivee is a Graduate, and no small Fool, I assure you, he has been at the —— Versity.
1784 Unfortunate Sensibility II. 72 The master of the inn..was no small body, for he was the owner of the vessel we came in.
1828 A. E. Bray Protestant ix. 293 A certain Justice of the Peace who was no small fool.
20. Not prominent or notable; humble, modest; unpretentious. In later use chiefly in a small way (see way n.1 and int.1 Phrases 7h(a)).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > modesty > [adjective]
simplec1300
measurablec1330
methec1390
murec1390
smallc1405
soleinc1450
timorous1474
modest1561
unbragging1570
unboldened1591
unpresuming1607
bragless1609
unambitious1621
boastless1632
unpompous1656
verecundous1656
sober1659
tender-foreheaded1659
unpragmatical1673
unpretending1681
unpresumptuous1704
unimportant1727
unaspiringa1729
inambitious1729
unassuming1730
unostentatiousa1739
unboastful1744
pretensionless1748
unarrogating1748
uncontending1748
unopinionated1775
unboasting1802
underbearing1802
mousy1812
un-ultra1817
unarrogant1831
low-flying1835
unconceited1838
unpretentious1838
uninflated1861
unvain1863
unbumptious1865
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > not worthy of notice or consideration
lessOE
smallc1405
unnotablec1454
regardless1557
mentionless1611
unregardable1614
unremarkable1625
inconsiderable1637
of no mentiona1640
unconsiderable1643
unobservable1658
unnoticeable1760
inconsequent1768
unappreciable1801
mousy1812
unnoteworthy1846
nebbishy1973
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [adverb] > on a small scale
in a small way1809
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [phrase] > on a small scale of income or expenditure
in a small way1809
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 381 Al were it so she were of smal degree Suffiseth hym hir youthe and hir beautee.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. lxv Therfore I ouer passyng small names and muche doyng, wil returne [etc.].
1611 Bible (King James) Job viii. 7 Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. View more context for this quotation
1661 W. Howell Inst. Gen. Hist. ii. ii. 272 In the timke of Cyrus the Great..lived Polycrates the famous Tyrant of Samus, who from a small beginning arrived at such extraordinary power.
1710 Examiner 30 Nov. 55 He was describing a Person, who from small Beginnings grew..to be Constable of France.
1809 European Mag. 55 19 An emporium no less respectable in a small way.
1816 J. Austen Emma I. iii. 36 She lived with her single daughter in a very small way. View more context for this quotation
1896 T. Hardy Under Greenwood Tree (rev. ed.) Pref. p. vii A composer in a small way.
1909 Daily Chron. 19 May 3/3 An industrious hard-working young man, starting as a produce dealer in a small way.
1998 J. Barnes England, Eng. (1999) 29 From small beginnings, he has risen like a meteor to great things.
21.
a.
(a) Of a person: incapable of large views or great actions; small-minded, mean-souled.
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
1619 H. Ainsworth Annot. Fourth Bk. Moses, called Numbers sig. Bb3v/1 The Greeke here translateth, the people was feeble-minded, or of small soule.
1728 T. Gordon in tr. Tacitus Wks. I. ii. 27 With small spirits and bigots every thing that is noble and free, is Atheism and Blasphemy.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iv. iv. 200 A man unfit for Revolutions? Whose small soul,..could by no chance ferment into virulent alegar?
1871 S. Smiles Character iii. 84 Small men may be envious of their fellows, but really great men..love each other.
1881 J. F. Clarke Self-culture 258 Among the flippant and the frivolous, we also become small and empty.
1946 W. S. Graham 9 Dec. in Nightfisherman (1999) 70 People who give out some joy and are not spiteful and small with fear.
1999 Daily Tel. 10 Nov. 29/5 The small men who run Preston Borough Council backed down in the face of threats from civil servants.
(b) Of an action, motive, etc.: base, low; mean, ungenerous.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > baseness > [adjective]
theowlikec1175
wickc1175
wretcha1200
lechera1300
vilea1300
feeblea1325
brothely1330
caitiffa1400
roinousa1425
basec1450
harlotry1486
filthy1533
brockish1546
vild1568
tinkerly?1576
scabbed?1577
miscreant1593
unnoble1593
slavish1597
rascally1600
roguish1601
sordidous1602
facinoriousa1616
scullion1658
dirty1670
shabbed1674
shabby1679
scoundrel1681
scabby1712
verminating1720
small1824
low-down1865
verminiferous1895
ragtime1917
ribby1936
raunchy1937
scungy1966
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
1824 S. Smith in Edinb. Rev. July 442 The pitiful propensity..to vent their small spite at their [sc. the American] character.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People x. §2. 755 The smaller passions, the meaner impulses of the world around him.
1890 Spectator Oct. 468/1 That is trickery, not statesmanship; and..it is small trickery too.
1953 E. Janeway Leaving Home (1987) 152 The small mean revenge exactly suited his mood.
2006 D. Dromgoole Will & Me 164 There was small behaviour beside glorious.
b. As complement with to feel, to look: humiliated, mortified, injured in self-respect. Cf. sense A. 18a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > humiliation > [adjective]
dejectc1528
broken1535
abased1554
come1564
downfallen1575
snubbed1583
crestfallen1589
humiliate1593
plume-plucked1597
low-broughta1599
chop-fallen1604
chap-fallen1608
dejected1608
humbleda1616
unprided1628
diminished1667
mortified1710
small1771
humiliated1782
squelched1837
grovelleda1845
sat-upon1873
comedown1886
deflated1894
zapped1962
1771 Hist. Sir William Harrington II. xlix. 227 But pray, Sir, give yourself no airs, lest you provoke me to take you down and make you look small.
1784 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) i. 31 Linley came to see my Father, he received him very kindly but poor L. look'd very small.
1840 F. Trollope Widow Married II. xix. 237 I should feel a little small at being seen in such a place.
?1863 T. Taylor Ticket-of-leave Man iv. 74 You've no right to be..coming after a chap, to make him look small this way.
1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 190 I felt very small, for the scoundrel had been within my grasp, and I had let him slip.
1910 H. H. Richardson Getting of Wisdom xiv. 143 Bob, still smarting from his father's banter, was inclined to be stand-offish, as though afraid Laura might take liberties with him, after his having been made to look so ‘small’.
1952 A. Wilson Hemlock & After iii. ii. 230 One doesn't meet so many men of stature in this puking little world, and his greatest thing was that he never made one feel small.
2000 K. Shamsie Salt & Saffron (2001) vi. 49 Combat abuse with nobility; it'll make the other guy look so small.
B. n.2
1.
†a. The state or condition of being small or narrow. Only in esmall n. some kind of disease or disorder of the eyes, perhaps characterized by shrinkage of the eyeball, contraction of the pupil, or narrowing of the gap between the eyelids. Obsolete. rare.Only in Old English. [It is unclear whether the first element (Old English ǣ ) shows a variant (otherwise unattested) of eye n.1 or perhaps e- prefix1 (with intensive force). The word is spelt thus consistently (five occurrences) in the source (in which compounds of eye n.1 are usually spelt ēag-).]
ΚΠ
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. 2 (table of contents) Læcedomas wið eallum tiedernessum eagena, wið eagna miste..& wiþ flie, & wið eagna tearum, & wið wemme on eagum, wið æsmælum, & gif mon surege sie, wið pocces on eagum,..& eagsealfa ælces cynnes.
b. Chiefly with the: that which is of little size, importance, or seriousness.In quot. a1250, the variant readings show use of the comparative as noun.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > of little importance or trivial
gnatc1000
ball play?c1225
smalla1250
triflec1290
fly1297
child's gamec1380
motec1390
mitec1400
child's playc1405
trufferyc1429
toyc1450
curiosity1474
fly-winga1500
neither mass nor matins1528
boys' play1538
nugament1543
knack?1544
fable1552
nincety-fincety1566
mouse1584
molehill1590
coot1594
scoff1594
nidgery1611
pin matter1611
triviality1611
minuity1612
feathera1616
fillip1621
rattle1622
fiddlesticka1625
apex1625
rush candle1628
punctilio1631
rushlight1635
notchet1637
peppercorn1638
petty John1640
emptiness1646
fool-fangle1647
nonny-no1652
crepundian1655
fly-biting1659
pushpin1660
whinny-whanny1673
whiffle1680
straw1692
two and a plack1692
fiddle1695
trivial1715
barley-strawa1721
nothingism1742
curse1763
nihility1765
minutia1782
bee's knee1797
minutiae1797
niff-naff1808
playwork1824
floccinaucity1829
trivialism1830
chicken feed1834
nonsensical1842
meemaw1862
infinitesimality1867
pinfall1868
fidfad1875
flummadiddle1882
quantité négligeable1885
quotidian1902
pipsqueak1905
hickey1909
piddle1910
cream puff1920
squat1934
administrivia1937
chickenshit1938
cream puff1938
diddly-squat1963
non-issue1965
Tinkertoy1972
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 142 Also schal ðe þet schriueð him. efter ðe greate schuuen ut ðet smele [?c1225 Cleo. smelre, c1230 Corpus Cambr. smealre, a1250 Titus smalere].
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 137 (MED) Þet he ne by y-demd ine þe cort of riȝte, ne he nele naȝt lete ne smal ne grat þet ne ssel by examened.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 12412 (MED) Make nat þy synne lytyl to seme; Telle smale and grete ȝyf þou God queme.
a1500 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Hunterian) (1976) i. 17 (MED) Aftir þe smale þey wiln ellys stelyn þe gretere.
1565 J. Jewel tr. Bible Luke xvi. 10 in Replie Hardinges Answeare Pref. sig. ¶5v He that is wicked in the Smal, is also wicked in the Greate.
a1741 C. Rollin tr. Hist. Arts & Sci. Antients (1768) III. iii. i. 445 I thought it incumbent on me to add the advantageous testimony, which Mr. l'Hopital..gives..in his preface to the Analysis of the Infinitely small.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) II. 54 These pretended plans of universality,..which make her descend into the infinitely small.
1836 R. W. Emerson Nature 67 To magnify the small, to micrify the great.
1956 Hispania 39 158/1 She displays a special feminine penchant for the small and the insignificant.
2011 D. Burnett Light in Dark 106 Notice the small and insignificant.
†2. A small or narrow opening in a garment. Only in head-small n. the opening in a garment through which the head is put; the neck of a garment. Obsolete.Only in Old English. [Compare Old Icelandic hǫfuðsmátt opening in a garment through which the head is put (see smoot n.1).]
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > covering or next to neck > opening for neck
head-smallOE
neck-hole1870
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Salisbury 38) in Anglia (1891) 13 37 [Cultus gemini sexus hujuscemodi constat..] capitium [et manicae sericis clavate] : heafodsmæl.
OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Corpus Cambr. 196) 1 Nov. 244 Þa ræsde an næddre of holum treowe æt þam heafodsmæle [OE Julius healsetan] ond hym on þone bosm ond hyne toslat þæt he wæs sona dead.
3.
a. With plural agreement. Persons or animals of small size or stature; little ones, children. Now only with the.
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-
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
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) l. 351 Ðe smale he wile ðus biswiken; Ðe grete mai[ȝ] he noȝt bigripen.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xvi. 16 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 148 Þar leuinges to þair smale [L. parvulis] left þai.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Matt. xviii. 6 Who so sclaundrith oon of these smale, that bileuen in me.
a1500 (?c1400) Sir Triamour (Cambr.) (1937) l. 1556 He smote Burlond of be the kneys..‘A lytull lower, syr,’ seyde hee, ‘And let vs small go wyth thee’.
1854 S. W. Koelle tr. Afr. Native Lit. 142 Our Lord..has created all, the black and the red, the small and the tall.
2006 J. H. Lucas & D. K. Krum Indestructible xi. 140 The young, the old, the tall, and the small turned out en masse to congratulate us.
b. A small child; (also) a junior.
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-
1907 W. De Morgan Alice-for-Short xxx. 300 How much can you remember of all that time, Alice? You were only a small, you know.
1947 Forum (Johannesburg) 5 Apr. 37/1 In a dozen other ways the prefects are the right-hand men of their Housemasters and me, and many a small owes a very great debt indeed to them.
1968 Guardian 1 Apr. 7/3 Leave two smalls to the tender mercies of a baby sitter?
1981 P. Dickinson Seventh Raven vi. 75 After each performance there's always a dozen smalls wandering miserably around.
2010 Daily Tel. 3 Nov. 24/1 A herd of in-laws had caught him leaving the smalls home alone.
4. With plural agreement. Persons of low or inferior rank or position, or of little ability or attainment. Chiefly in great and small (see great n. 2b); also small and great.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > socially inferior person > [noun]
lowerc1175
afterlingc1275
smalla1325
nethererc1443
undermana1661
lowlife1712
vulgar1763
vulgarian1809
rank outsider1869
low man on the totem1956
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [noun] > collectively
smalla1325
simplea1375
riff-raffc1475
lowly1547
little folk1580
little people1699
lowlife1820
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2892 Hem-seluen he..holden ðe tigeles tale, And elten and eilden grete & smale.
a1400 Psalter (Egerton) cxviii. 130 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 256 (MED) To smale [L. parvulos; Vesp. Schirenes of þi speche lightes wit, Vnderstanding to litel giues ite].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxiii. 12 Yee he blesseth all them that feare the Lorde, both small & greate.
1597 J. Tanner Serm. Paules Crosse (new ed.) 29 The cause of the smalle, as well as the greate.
1679 S. Woodford Paraphr. upon Canticles 63 Both small and great there undistinguisht be, Undisturb'd by outworn Authority.
1737 tr. C. de Bruyn Trav. into Muscovy I. 31/2 They then begin to give Easter eggs, which continues for a fortnight, a custom as well among the great as the small.
1781 W. Cowper Truth 375 Envy, ye great, the dull, unletter'd small.
1860 W. Fraser Parish Serm. 7 Now, at this moment, all, the living and the dead, the just and the unjust, the small and the great, wherever they may be, are standing before Him.
1926 W. Lewis Art of being Ruled (1989) ii. iii. 76 The oppression of the poor by the rich is associated with the stultification of the great by the small.
1999 G. DeMar Last Days Madness (ed. 4) i. 20 The small and the great, the sane and the insane, the sacred and the profane have been quick to predict when the end might come.
†5. Little, not much. Also with of. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > only a little
litea1000
littleOE
smalla1393
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. l. 4535 Touchende Usure I have al herd, Hou thou of love hast wonne smale.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 18246 Now is oure kyngdome fordone al Of monkynde gete we ful smal.
c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 813 To thynke mochyl, and seyn but smal.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxvi. 351 Sir, ther was none that durst do bot small When that he yede.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. ix. sig. Gg5 Hauing small, yet doe I not complaine Of want. View more context for this quotation
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. i. 86 Small haue continuall plodders euer wonne. View more context for this quotation
1640 M. Parker King & Poore Northerne Man sig. A6 Let me in, Ise give thee a good single penny, I see thou wilt ha small, ere thou't doe for nought.
6.
a. As a count noun. A small quantity or amount; a little piece, a morsel. Cf. in (also by) smalls at Phrases 2. Now Scottish (rare).
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
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2366 (MED) Many smale makeþ a grete.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) viii. l. 146 Pepur an vnce, of case & mynte asmal [L. aliquantulum], Wol do, and vse in tyme as medcynal.
a1500 (c1370) G. Chaucer Complaint to his Lady (BL Add.) (1886) l. 110 And ye lete me thus sterve Yet have wonne theron but a smal.
a1525 Thre Prestis of Peblis (Asloan) (1920) 14 Of mony smallis couth mak This bony pedder a gud fut pak.
1566 T. Drant Wailyngs Hieremiah in tr. Horace Medicinable Morall sig. L v That we might haue a smal of bred, Our carcas to contente.
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Ej For that he will not knowe to vse And lyue vpon a small.
1624 R. Sanderson Serm. I. 243 Can there be greater unthankfulness, than to grudge Him a small, who hath given us all?
1706 in W. Fraser Melvilles & Leslies (1890) II. 202 It is pay'd in so many smalls that it deminishes the valow.
1900 T. P. Ollason Mareel 95 We's just jog in da sam' auld gaet; content wi' sma's.
b. In or after proverbial use. Also with plural agreement.
ΚΠ
a1400Many smale makeþ a grete [see sense B. 6a].
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) §288 The prouerbe seith that manye smale maketh a greet.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xi. sig. D.iv Here some and there some, many small make a great.
?1553 Respublica (1952) i. i. 4 Yet manye a smale makith a greate.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 68v The stock, which by many smalls, groweth to a meetly greatnes.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vii. 305 All which are but as Suburbs to the new Caire, that of many smalles make vp a Countrey, rather then a City.
1737 A. Ramsay Coll. Scots Prov. 48 Mony Sma's make a Great.
1738 London Mag. Dec. 593/1 Many Smalls, Sir, make a Great.
1816 W. Milne Let. 10 Jan. in Memoirs (1824) 209 Many smalls amount to a great sum in the aggregate.
2009 T. Terriff in Naval Peacekeeping & Humanitarian Operations vi. 89 Many ‘smalls’ do add up.
7. Usually with the. The small, slender, or narrow part of something.
a. The slender part of the leg between the ankle and the calf.
(a) With of-phrase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > leg > narrow part of leg > [noun]
smallc1450
c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 139 (MED) Qwan the smale off the legge ys fulle off flesch.
a1502 in E. Cavell Heralds' Mem. 1486–90 (2009) 172 After that a gowne had borne away his foote by the small of the legge.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. ixv They be .ii. yardes longe & as moche as the smale of a mannes legge.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) v. sig. Qq3 A long coate of white veluet, reaching to the small of his legge.
1623 G. Markham Cheape & Good Husb. (ed. 3) 47 The smals of his fore-legs, vnder his knees, and for the smals of his hinder legges somewhat below the spauin ioynts.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World iii. 32 A piece of Cotton Cloath about the small of their Leg, from the Ankle to the Calf.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. i. 15 His Excellency having mounted on the small of my Right Leg.
1755 World 5 June 762 A tacit promise from my fair countrywomen (in compliance to the application of the young men) that they would leave the small of the leg at least as visible as before.
1857 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 3 Jan. 5/1 The bandage is rather tighter round the foot and instep than round the small of the leg.
1956 Jrnl. County Louth Archaeol. Soc. 13 392 Irish stockings..were tied with a garter around the small of the leg.
2001 F. Grew & M. de Neergaard Shoes & Pattens (new ed.) 114/1 These boots were..fastened by lacing or buckles in the small of the leg.
†(b) Without of-phrase. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 634 Long. His Legge is too bigge for Hectors. Duman. More Calfe certaine. Boye. No, he is best indued in the small . View more context for this quotation
1630 M. Drayton Muses Elizium i. 8 A swelling Calfe, a Small so fine, An Ankle, round and leane.
1715 London Gaz. No. 5328/4 Large Legs, the Small pretty big.
1766 G. G. Beekman Let. 22 Dec. in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) I. 506 They must be the Largest Size in the legg but not so in the foot or Small.
1831 G. Henson Civil Hist. Framework-knitters iv. 212 He had caused his hose to be well narrowed down in the small, to fit his fine-shaped leg.
b. The narrow part of an inanimate object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > [noun] > a narrow part
narrowc1230
narrowingc1454
small?a1500
intake1808
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 779/16 Hic stilus, a smal of a pelyr.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq2/3 The Small of the Sword, le foible de l' Epée.
a1703 R. Hooke in W. Derham Philos. Exper. R. Hooke & Other Virtuoso's (1726) 12 Filling up the Space left in the Bolt-Head with Water, till it reach'd into the Small of the Neck, I nipp'd off the seal'd Top of the Bubble.
1847 Infantry Man. (1854) 22 The right hand grasps the small of the butt.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Small,..that part of the anchor-shank which is immediately under the stock.
1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.-E. Afr. 133 Holding the small of the stock in my right hand, and the barrel in my left.
2010 D. Shideler Greatest Guns of Gun Digest 93 This novel rifle had a trigger..just above the small of the stock.
c. the small of the back: the part of the back where the spine curves in at the level of the waist. Also the small of the waist, †the small of the belly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > [noun] > parts of
the small of the back?1536
metaphrenum1607
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > belly or abdomen > [noun] > small of
the small of the belly?1536
?1536 H. Latimer in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 148 I am in a fayntt werynesse over all my body, butt cheffly in the small of my backe.
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 325 If your Hawke chaunce to die, rippe hir and you shall finde a knubbe of the bignesse of a small Beane full vpon the reynes and the small of hir backe.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. lxxiv. 246 It cureth the trenches or gryping payne in the small of the bellie or bowels.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 65 The marrow of a Bull beaten and drunke, cureth the payne in the small of the belly.
1684 Aristoteles Master-piece xxiv. 166 She will be made sensible of the approaching time by pain in her Groyn, Thighs, the small of her Belly.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 29 Over the Doliman, they gird themselves about the small of the waste with a Sash.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 215. ⁋7 Our best Customers show but little above the Small of their Backs.
1750 J. Wesley Let. 8 June (1931) III. 280 Falling with the small of her back against the edge of one of the stairs, she was not able to rise again.
1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 528 Severe pain in the head and small of the back.
1866 Gaz. of Fashion Apr. 77/1 The side-body itself shrunk in at the centre, under the bottom of the scye, to form a hollow at the small of the waist.
1884 H. Hunter & W. Whyte My Ducats xviii His eyes fixed on the small of the coachman's back.
1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 12/1 Keeping time with the foot that rested against the small of Lynn's back.
1979 W. Styron Sophie's Choice ii. 49 A tingling sensation in the small of my back.
2004 S. Shiflett Hidden Place v. 124 My hand came to rest on the small of her waist.
d. the small of the arm: the narrow part of the forearm, above the wrist.
ΚΠ
a1544 R. Barlow tr. M. Fernández de Enciso Brief Summe Geogr. (1932) 154 A certein rote called mandioc..encreseth under grounde as the rotes of ferne, but thei be as bigge as the small of a mannes arme.
1565 J. Hall Anat. 3rd Treat. ii. iii. 64 in tr. Lanfranc Most Excellent Woorke Chirurg. From this shoulder veine, commeth forth a great conspicuous braunche, beneathe the boughte of the arme in the insyde, and from thence passeth slopewise ouer ye small of the arme.
1633 tr. Math. Recreations 115 The length of the face is equall to the length of the hand, taken from the small of the arme, unto the extremity of the longest finger.
1651 J. Evans Universall Med. sig. G3v The swelling brake in the small of the arm.
1800 W. Turton tr. C. Linnaeus Gen. Syst. Nature I. 673 4 feet long, and about as thick as the small of the arm.
1884 R. Browning Ferishtah's Fancies vii. 63 The jaws Met i' the small o' the arm.
1901 tr. A. Dumas Chicot the Jester xcii. 762 The count's sword..ran through the small of his arm up to the shoulder.
1946 M. Peake Titus Groan 385 He gazed abstractedly over the small of his outstretched arm.
1993 I. Hamilton tr. J. F. Lyotard Libidinal Econ. i. 21 The force which was lodged in the eyes escapes them and runs towards the small of the arm.
e. Whaling. The narrow part of the tail of a whale, lying in front of the flukes. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > order Cetacea (whales) > [noun] > large member of (whale) > parts of > parts of tail
flukes1726
small1726
1726 Philos. Trans. 1725 (Royal Soc.) 33 256 With those Fins they clasp about her Small, and so hold themselves on.
1845 P. H. Gosse Ocean (1849) v. 230 The head gradually sinks, the ‘small’ is projected from the water, and presently the ‘flukes’ of the tail are raised high in the air.
1869 Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 49 Its shape..is decidedly ugly, a short body with immense belly, and frequently diminutive ‘small’, inordinately large pectorals and flukes.
1903 Strand Mag. Nov. 536/1 His blubber..being..nine inches [thick] on the belly and six inches on the ‘small’.
1970 P. Gray Encycl. Biol. Sci. (ed. 2) 159/1 A slender, laterally compressed section, called ‘the small’ by whalers.
8. A small measure of a beverage, esp. of spirits. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1695 Laws & Acts 5th Session 1st Parl. Will. 39 The six Shilling upon the Pint of Brandy, shall hereafter be payable onely by Toppers and Retailers in smalls.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 13 Dec. 9/1 He saw him have several halves of whisky—‘smalls’ they were called there.
1895 J. Tweeddale Moff xxii. 213 ‘John, ma man, I'll haud 'e wi' sma's,’ said Mrs. Duffy, pouring out a glass.
1947 M. Morris in ‘B. James’ Austral. Short Stories (1963) 344 Make it another small... All round.
1998 J. Connelly Bringing out Dead (1999) 136 Ralph, give me a large and a small, please, a beer and a bourbon.
9. In plural.
a. Small fragments resulting from industrial processes.
†(a) The waste produced when extracting minerals from rock. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > mineral material > [noun] > mining refuse or rubbish
rough1677
old man1747
small1778
stent1778
vestry1784
gobbin1811
spoil1838
stowing1860
dump1865
muck1883
spoil-heap1883
mine-dump1909
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 223 The latter [waste] will run or fly over, and is called dilleughing smalls or pitworks.
1801 Trans. Dublin Soc. 1800 2 133 The smalls, which run through the mashes, are occasionally taken out and passed through the tye-buddle.
1890 Engineer 70 126 The ore..is tipped from trucks on to a grating of iron bars about 2½ in. apart; the ‘mine smalls’ pass through.
1895 J. W. Anderson Prospector's Handbk. (ed. 6) 166 Smalls—Small-sized pieces of ore and gangue.
(b) Fine particles of refuse tobacco. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1789 Minutes Evid. Comm. Repealing Duties Tobacco 123 There would be some Dust and Smalls left, and also in Short Cut Tobacco I frequently mix Returns of fine Rag.
1794 T. W. Williams Duty & Office Justice of Peace II. 267 All tobacco smalls sifted from short-cut, and shag-tobacco, and all returns of Spanish, shall be deemed returns.
1881 W. R. Loftus Tobacconist 8 The finer particles which pass through being termed ‘smalls’, and the larger pieces which remain on the sieve ‘returns’. The smalls are usually disposed of for snuff making.
1912 A. E. Tanner Tobacco 107 This refuse tobacco consists of the midribs of the leaves, called ‘stalks’, broken pieces, dust, cigarette waste or ‘smalls’, and damaged tobacco—all classed under the general term of ‘offals’.
†(c) Small broken rice. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > rice > types of
white rice1614
rough rice1735
wild rice1748
Carolina rice1787
Patna rice1795
rough1837
basmati1845
small1882
palay1889
brown rice1916
arborio1951
1882 H. B. Proctor Rice iii. 33 On leaving the polishers, the rice is again blown or aspirated, and last of all separated into whole rice, and broken rice, or smalls.
1883 Good Words July 443/1 Small broken rice, known as ‘smalls’.
b.
(a) Small clothes, breeches. Now historical and rare.In quot. 1795 apparently applied to trousers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > breeches
breecha1100
breeka1300
femoralc1450
hosec1460
breecha1500
overstocks1543
strossers1598
strouses1600
breeching1604
brogues1615
trousies1652
small clothes1770
knee-breeches1829
smalls1836
breekums1839
culotte1842
sine qua nons1850
terminations1863
trouserettes1875
strides1889
knee-breech1904
1795 F. Lathom All In A Bustle i. ii. 18 Inexpressibles, smalls I mean, from the breast-bone to the shoe, quite the thing indeed, sir.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xvi. 153 A difficult process it is, to bow in green velvet smalls.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lvi. 509 Her footman, in large plush smalls and waistcoat.
1886 J. K. Jerome Idle Thoughts 133 An eager, bright-eyed boy, with..dandy shoes and tight-fitting smalls.
1903 J. Conrad & F. M. Hueffer Romance iv. iv. 240 Paunchy in his tight smalls and short jacket.
1917 M. C. Oemler Slippy McGee xix. 369 Rakehelly old colonials in wigs, chokers, and tight-fitting smalls.
(b) Underclothes, esp. knickers or underpants.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > underwear > [noun]
linenc1330
napery1598
small clothes1625
linings1631
unders1731
underdress1788
unmentionable1791
unexpressible1810
underclothes1824
underclothing1835
unmentionabilities1840
underthings1864
underwear1872
under-gear1883
innerwear1904
scanty1928
smalls1934
long john1941
skivvy1945
1934 W. Holtby Truth is not Sober iii. ii. 177 A morning's work ironing Fancy Smalls.
1943 N. Coward Middle East Diary (1944) 80 Their mothers stood nearby washing out a few ‘smalls’ in the shallows.
1951 People 3 June 4/6 Most of those who do send out to the laundry still wash smalls and personal linen themselves.
1973 Guardian 12 Mar. 10/2 Not many Americans..can have a clear idea of what to use the bidet for, apart from soaking the smalls.
2006 Diva Feb. 17/2 Marks & Spencer is the preferred buying outlet, with nearly half of all readers buying their smalls there.
c. Lower-case letters.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printed matter > printed character(s) > [noun] > lower case or small letter
minuscule1701
smalls1834
miniscule1871
1834 Sel. Papers Expressing Langs. East in Eng. Char. 49 The difference between the various Hindoo alphabets is certainly not much greater than between our Roman and Italian, Writing and Old English characters, Capitals and Smalls.
1919 H. Etheridge Dict. Typewriting 125 May be in either capitals and smalls or all capitals.
1993 D. Gilb Magic of Blood 31 Words..in capitals and smalls, in longhand and print.
d. Parcels or consignments of comparatively little weight (see quots. 1889, 1890). Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > [noun] > of loads > a load
ladec897
seamc950
lastOE
burdena1000
charge?c1225
load?c1225
burnc1375
draughta1400
summerc1400
portage1445
pauchlea1450
fraughtc1450
freightc1503
loadinga1513
carriage1597
ballast1620
cargo1657
porterage1666
freightage1823
smalls1846
journey1859
send-off1909
payload1914
1846 C. Nash Railway Carrying & Carriers' Law 78 Legality of packing smalls into one parcel.
1889 Manch. Examiner 4 May The word ‘smalls’..is used to represent the thousands of small parcels which are daily forwarded from the warehouses of Manchester and other large cities to shopkeepers throughout the kingdom.
1890 Times 4 Dec. 11/2 Then with regard to ‘smalls’, or quantities of less than 3 cwt.;..hitherto in Birmingham ‘smalls’ had been defined to be quantities less than 2 cwt.
1983 Truckin' Life Aug. 50/3 ‘Smalls’ cargo—or anything less than a wagon load.
2005 New Yorker 18 Apr. 167/1 When the smalls come into the smalls loops, de-skilled workers place each envelope or small package label side up.
e. Products of lesser size than the usual or average.
ΚΠ
1863 Rep. Commissioner Agric. (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 118 The ‘middlings’, or ‘mediums’ [sc. teazels], grow on the end of the branches..; the ‘smalls’ at the sides of the main branches.
1894 Gentleman's Mag. May 434 Merchants in London and Liverpool still recalled with affection Craggy Doon ‘smalls’ and ‘mediums’, meaning slates.
1976 Wymondham & Attleborough Express 10 Dec. 21/2 Mediums [sc. eggs] from 46p to 43p per dozen with only smalls below this rate.
2008 B. W. White Rumba Rules iv. 102 Maybe Defao just bought smalls and mediums to provoke his mostly male audience.
f. Small kinds of bread; fancy bread, rolls, etc. N.E.D. (1912) states that this use is ‘frequently in advertisements’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > [noun] > fancy bread
fancy bread1801
smalls1890
1890 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 17 Jan. 130/2 The many descriptions of goods turned out by the confectioner, and known by him under the name of smalls.
1892 Glasgow Her. 22 Apr. 2/1 Baker..; one well up in smalls and pastry.
1912 J. Grant Chem. Breadmaking xii. 183 The baking of buns and other smalls.
2005 B. Anderson Coll. Stories 77 What are the smalls? she insists. Peter is on his feet demonstrating. He is dabbing icing on small cakes.
g. Small advertisements (see Compounds 4).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > advertising > advertising in the press > [noun] > types of press advertisement
lost1762
lost(s) and founds1777
small advertisement1811
blind advertisement1842
want advertisementa1871
reading notice1872
small ad1875
want ad1892
classified1909
smalls1919
tombstone1948
tele ad1967
matrimonials1989
1919 Editor & Publisher 30 Oct. 28/3 The Observer is effecting a radical change in its appearance by removing the trade display advertisements which have hitherto occupied its front page and replacing them with ‘smalls’.
1942 New Statesman 11 July 25/3 The members of staff usually responsible for selecting ‘smalls’ and rejecting those that are undesirable.
1959 Times 2 Dec. 9/4 The Press figure does not take into account the booming Classified advertising revenue, or ‘Smalls’.
2004 Cape Gay Guide (Cape Town) (ed. 9) 14 See the smalls pages of the newspaper if your imagination fails you.
10. Small coal; slack. Also: (in plural) varieties of small coal. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > coal or types of coal > [noun] > small, refuse, impure, or coal-dust
slackc1440
smith coal1466
smithy coal1482
coal dusta1529
panwood1531
smith's coal1578
kirving1599
culm1603
coom1611
small coal1643
smit1670
smut1686
slag1695
duff1724
duff coal1724
small1780
gum1790
stinking coal1803
cobbles1811
nubbling1825
stinkers1841
rubble1844
pea1855
nuts1857
nut coal1861
slap1865
burgee1867
smudge1883
waste1883
treble1901
coal smut1910
gumming1938
nutty slack1953
1780 W. Shaw Galic & Eng. Dict. I. at Minan Small of coal and other things.
1788 J. H. de Magellan et al. Cronstedt's Ess. Syst. Mineral. (new ed.) II. 477 The small of this coal cannot therefore be applied to domestic use.
1805 J. Playfair Biogr. Acct. of Late James Hutton in Trans. Royal Soc. Edinb. (1970) 5 49 It proves that culm is the small, or refuse, of the infusible, or stone coal... That the small of the fusible coal, by caking or uniting together, becomes equally serviceable with the large coal.
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 48 Small Leader, a lad employed to put away small, to a stow-board, from the hewer working by separation in a narrow place.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 83/2 Frequently they mix them up with ‘the small’ of north country coals of better quality.
1880 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 2nd Ser. 16 360 There is amongst this class a good deal of ‘slack’ or small, which is very useful in ‘banking-up’, and also in ‘bridging, or backing up’.
1898 Daily News 21 Mar. 3/6 Not for some years have best steam smalls been in such demand.
1925 Economist 12 Dec. 1023/1 Best bunker smalls, 13s to 13s 6d; ordinary cargo smalls, 11s to 12s; coking smalls, 13s to 13s 6d.
1956 E. Mason Deputy's Man. I. xviii. 254 The smalls produced by the picks are termed kirvings, gummings or cuttings.
11. In plural. Oxford University colloquial. Responsions (see responsion n. 3). Also occasionally in singular in same sense. Now historical. [Probably after little go n. (see sense 2); perhaps compare post-classical Latin parvae disputationes , plural noun (1584 or earlier). It is unclear whether this Latin term results from a folk-etymological association of post-classical Latin in parvisiis or in parviso ‘in academic disputations’ (for both, see parvis n. 2) with classical Latin parvīs , ablative plural of parvus small (see parvi- comb. form).]
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > university examinations
fellowship examination1787
collections1799
responsions1810
response1813
little go1816
great go1820
Previous Examination1824
school1826
smalls1836
senate-house examination1837
tripos1842
honours examination1851
biennial1853
great1854
moderations1857
Mods1858
professional1890
Trip1909
previous1950
1836 E. Caswall Pluck Exam. Papers 26 It is said by a man, that he has ‘just taken a coach to help him through his small’.
1840 Cambr. Univ. Mag. 1 195 ‘The Little-Go’ is not the proper term for the great spring festival to which we refer; neither is ‘The Smalls’ a whit less objectionable.
1852 C. A. Bristed Five Years Eng. University (ed. 2) 92 The Little Go (at Oxford the Smalls).
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. x. 180 I ought to be going up for smalls myself next term.
1880 E. Lynn Linton Rebel of Family I. ii. 54 He had been ‘ploughed’ for ‘smalls’ and everything else.
1907 E. Glyn Three Weeks i. 6 He scraped through his ‘Smalls’ and his ‘Mods’.
1950 M. Marples University Slang 81 Little-go died out at Oxford, leaving the field to Smalls.
1997 S. Rothblatt Mod. University & Discontents iv. 198 Several unfortunate Oxonians, floored in Smalls.., nevertheless presided over raucous celebrations.
12. Theatre. In plural with the. Small towns lacking a proper theatre. to do the smalls: to give performances (usually for one night) in small towns. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > [noun] > a performance > other types
début1751
vehicle1785
benefit1802
showpiece1810
ticket-night1812
yatra1827
command1839
lollipopa1849
party piece1851
roadshow1874
one-night stand1878
stand1878
one-man show1879
small1886
command performance1897
ticket benefit1898
frivol1903
run-through1905
pre-production1906
riot1909
one-nighter1916
gala performance1932
improv1953
warm-up1958
workshopping1966
impro1979
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > [noun] > other types of theatre > collectively
broadway1881
west end1882
small1886
off-Broadway1953
off-off-Broadway1957
off-off-off Broadway1966
Off-Off1975
1886 Era 3 Apr. 8/5 Excellent actors and actresses.., some going to first-class towns and others confining themselves to the smalls.
1890 S. J. Adair Fitzgerald Sketches from Bohemia xvii. 114 Minor companies with ‘fit-ups’—that is, companies carrying their own theatre..—who visit small towns and villages for one-night performances, are said to be ‘doing the smalls’.
1907 H. Wyndham Flare of Footlights xxx Wanted..Smart Young Gent to tour the smalls.
1922 E. Dyson Grey Goose Comedy Co. v. 48 I vote we dump this bag o' tricks on a dray, 'n' go 'n' do the smalls.
1991 M. R. Booth Theatre in Victorian Age ii. 36 Whether it was worthwhile to play the ‘smalls’.
13. Caribbean. In plural with singular agreement. A gratuity or small gift of money.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > tip
bountethc1440
gratitude1535
vail1605
gratulance1608
gratilitya1616
spill1675
baksheesh1686
simony1707
perquisite1721
tip1755
grace1769
buckshee1773
mancia1798
bonus1834
pouch1880
gravy1910
étrenne1928
sling1948
small1962
toke1971
1962 M. Hughes Fairest Island x. 152 So me am begging a smalls.
1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come v. 144 A group of younger boys passed along, imploring likely prospects. ‘Maastah,’ one said, holding out a palmful of change in evidence, ‘Ah need a smalls fe mek up de fare.’
1994 S. Gordon Jamaica 77/1 More often they will request that you give them ‘a money’ or ‘a smalls’ (same thing, and it means a tip at your discretion).
2010 J. Cooke Jamaica Day by Day 174 Beg yuh a smalls?

Phrases

P1. in small.
†a. In small quantities, in fragments; in detail. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or breaking up into constituent parts > into (small) pieces [phrase]
in (also into, on, a) piecesa1275
(all) to shiversc1275
to piecesc1300
asundera1325
to set in sunderc1325
in sunderc1390
in, into shredsc1400
in small1419
in piecemeal?a1425
in piecemealsa1470
by piecemeals1576
in shivers1589
in or into splinters1612
1419–20 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 202 (MED) Also hit is Ordeyned..þat no maner Off Man..schall sende..non horslodys Off [no] sotyll ware..To Retayle hit Inne small.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 1309 Quen it was smeten in small..Ilka gobet his gate glidis fra othire.
a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) l. 978 Comprised is in smal this part secounde.
b. (Cf. in little at little adj., pron., n., and adv. Phrases 2f.)
(a) In reference to painting, etc.: in miniature.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to subject > [adverb] > in miniature
in little1604
in small1611
in miniature1700
1611 C. Tourneur Atheist's Trag. (new ed.) i. sig. C1v You have giuen me her picture in small.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 190 Hercules his Labours in Massy Silver, & many incomparable Pictures in small.
1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 376 His Soul; that noble Copy and Resemblance of its Maker, in small indeed, but nevertheless [etc.].
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting II. ii. 76 Vandyck actually made the design, but..it was executed only in small by Ph. Frutiers.
1899 H. Adams Let. 19 Feb. (1988) IV. 690 This is a complete picture in small of the situation.
1963 D. Foskett Brit. Portrait Miniatures 35 A detailed description of how to prepare a picture in small follows.
2007 S. N. Mayberry Can't I love what I Criticize? 57 Wiley Wright cleverly avoids becoming a sketch in small of..Nel's husband.
(b) On a small scale; in little. Also (rare) in the small.
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-
1765 Museum Rusticum 4 lxii. 273 Let him beware of trying experiments from books, except in small.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §219 (note) I have made trial of this method, both in small and in large.
1855 R. Browning Old Pictures in Florence xxi, in Men & Women II. 40 Where the strong and the weak..Repeat in large what they practised in small.
1861 H. Bushnell Christian Nurture ii. v. 299 We are infants too, men and women in the small.
2008 G. McCracken Transformations 211 The..transformation failed in small and in large.
P2. Scottish. in (also by) smalls: in small amounts, portions, or sums. Now rare. Sc. National Dict. (1971) records this sense as still in use in Scotland in 1970.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in small amounts
in (also by) smalls1529
1529 Edinb. Burgh Statutes 8 Oct. At na personis..regrait nor by meill to sell the samyn agane in smallis.
1584 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1880) 1st Ser. III. 649 His haill vicarage is bot tuelf pundis or thairby, pait to him in smalis, in iiis and iiiis in sum placis.
1632 in E. Bain Merchant & Craft Guilds (1887) 221 To sell any flour, in greaties or smallies to unfriemen.
1650 J. Row & J. Row Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1842) 287 Fifty merks (whilk he confessed..he had at sundrie tymes stollen out of the boxe in smalls).
a1653 H. Binning Sinners Sanctuary (1670) xiv. 111 Since he cannot get one sum in value, equal to it, he must be eternally paying it, in smalls.
1722 A. Pennecuik Hist. Blue Blanket 104 Every Tun of Wine to be retailed and vended in Smalls.
1734 T. Melvill True Caledonian 10 When they do sell a Piece to a Shop-keeper, they must take their Money by Smalls, as he can give it them.
1826 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxv, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 490 God's blessings are aye God's blessings, though they come in sma's and driblets.
1865 Glasgow Herald 31 July 4/5 Some speculating genius who saw a chance of turning a dishonest penny by retailing it in smalls.
a1895 R. M. Calder Berwickshire Bard (1897) 203 When no' content to save by sma's.
1930 H. W. Duncan in Sc. National. Dict. (1971) VIII. at Sma adj. [Aberdeenshire] Athing 'at's gweed's made up in sma's.
†P3. by small and small: by degrees; gradually, slowly. Now archaic and rare.
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
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos i. sig. C.ijv He..by smal and smal doth make The Queene forget her husband dead.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos vi. 128 By small and small to landward than I swamme.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. ii. 194 I play the torturer by small and small To lengthen out the worst that must be spoken. View more context for this quotation
1994 Iowa Rev. 24 82 All things splendid are disfigured by small and small.
†P4. to play at small game (also small play) rather than sit out and variants: to play for low stakes rather than not be involved in a game; (chiefly figurative) to engage in any activity, however trivial, rather than be idle. Obsolete.Also in proverbial use, with reference to the constant activity ascribed to the Devil, as the Devil will play at small game rather than sit out and variants.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > be occupied or busy (in or at something) [verb (intransitive)] > be fully occupied > keep fully occupied
to play at small game (also small play) rather than sit out1565
to hold tug1577
to make play1813
1565 J. Calfhill Aunswere Treat. Crosse f. 106 I perceiue you wil play small play, rather than sit out.
1566 T. Heskyns Parl. Chryste iii. xl. f. ccxli I see this man wolde plaie smal game raither then he will set out.
1629 H. Burton Babel No Bethel 7 [He] is willing rather to play small play, then to giue out.
?1643 J. Vicars God on Mount 179 The Divell, who..is willing to play at small games, rather than sit out and bee idle.
1671 T. Shadwell Humorists v. 61 I am resolved to play at a small game, rather than stand out.
1750 Conversat. between Blacksmith & Merchant 5 They do not care to be idle, and will play at small Game, rather than stand out.
1770 J. Burgess Beelzebub driving & drowning his Hogs 18 Let thus much suffice on the first doctrinal observation rais'd from my text, viz. That the devil will play at small game, rather than none at all.
1827 W. Scott Chron. Canongate i. 23 Some stuck to cards, and though no longer deep gamblers, rather played small game than sat out.
P5. in the smallest: in the least. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in the least or the slightest degree
the leastc1400
any whit1526
one whit1526
(not) a wink1596
in the least1608
in the smallesta1616
in the leastwise1676
tint1886
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 169 I may make my case as Claudio's, to crosse this in the smallest . View more context for this quotation
1784 Parl. Reg. Ireland III. i. 127 All were under the same English influence, and consequently subversive of our interests, when it militated in the smallest against that of our monopolizing sister.
1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. P. F. Richter in German Romance III. 276 The best wives will complain of their husbands to a stranger, without in the smallest liking them the less on that account.
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xv. iii. 35 Not molesting Prince Karl in the smallest.
2004 D. Birchall Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma 157 You cannot think Henry would be influenced in the smallest by witnessing such a sin.
P6. a small fortune: see fortune n. 6.
P7.
small and early adj. and n. now historical (a) adj. designating a small evening party not intended to continue to a late hour; (b) n. a party of this kind.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > party > [noun] > small
small and early1823
partykin1855
1823 New Monthly Mag. 8 1 As you return upon a winter's morning from one of the ‘small and early’ parties of that raking metropolis.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xi. 99 For the clearing off of these worthies, Mrs. Podsnap added a small and early evening to the dinner.
1866 Med. Times & Gaz. 6 Oct. 360/1 Men, whose names were never whispered in the ‘at homes’ and ‘small and earlies’ of the season.
1880 B. Disraeli Endymion III. ix. 86 Well, there are not many dinners among them to be sure... Small and earlies. How I hate a ‘small and early’!
1888 H. James Partial Portraits 360 To the afternoon tea, to the fashionable ‘squash’, to the late and suffocating ‘small and early’.
1900 ‘M. Corelli’ Master-Christian xvii. 258 A small and early dinner-party given by the Comtesse that evening.
1944 Amer. Jrnl. Econ. & Sociol. 3 263 They were guests of Sir Francis Jeune..and Lady Jeune at one of their famous ‘small and earlies’.
P8. small is beautiful: expressing a belief that small-scale institutions, systems, etc., are more desirable than large-scale ones; also attributive.Esp. associated with the thought of E. F. Schumacher (see quot. 1973).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [phrase] > on a small scale > belief that small scale is best
small is beautiful1971
1971 Jrnl. Aesthetic Educ. 5 31 The aesthetic values..are determined by real properties of the objects (i.e. size—small is beautiful and the gigantesque sublime.)
1973 E. F. Schumacher (title) Small is beautiful.
1975 Country Life 25 Dec. 1784/1 Adapting Schumacher's phrase, we decide that not only small but piecemeal is beautiful.
1976 Seed 5 v. 6/3 Included are articles on self-sufficiency, ‘small-is-beautiful’ politics and agriculture and nutrition.
1977 D. James Spy at Evening xxiv. 193 Small Is Beautiful—but big pays more.
2003 Holiday Which? Spring 80/2 It's good news once again for the no-frills airlines in our survey, but small is beautiful when it comes to our table topper.

Compounds

C1. Parasynthetic.
a. Only a selection of the earlier or more important examples of this type are here given. See also small-eyed adj., small-headed adj., small-leaved adj., small-mouthed adj.
small-bodied adj.
ΚΠ
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 396 He was fine in the waste, and small bodied.
1685 London Gaz. No. 2019/8 A brown bay Nag,..full Haunched, and small Bodied.
1705 W. S. Family Jewel 9 Angle with a small body'd Fly.
1857 W. B. Adams in Jrnl. Soc. Arts 2 Jan. 97/2 We had better take the smaller-bodied and lighter-fingered Celt.
1993 Weekend Post (Port Elizabeth) 9 Oct. (Leisure section) 7 Oena capensis, Namaqua dove... A small-bodied dove with a long, pointed, almost black tail.
small-boned adj.
ΚΠ
1709 B. Mandeville Virgin Unmask'd iv. 86 Being a tender small Boned Creature, of all her Sufferings, nothing was more irksome to her than Dorante's Blows.
1812 G. Crabbe Tales iii. 45 He soon display'd his skill In small-bon'd Lambs.
1994 BBC Vegetarian Good Food Aug. 71/2 Those most at risk are slim, small-boned white women with a family history of osteoporosis, especially if they drink or smoke heavily.
small-brained adj.
ΚΠ
1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. A. Musæus in German Romance I. 152 The sluggish Bustard, the heavy-bodied Heath-cock, the lazy Stork, the small-brained Heron, and all the larger birds chuckled, flapped, and croaked applause to him.
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 566/1 The small-brained and cold-blooded classes of Vertebrata.
1993 Toronto Star (Nexis) 7 Nov. h1 The soldier inside this smart suit, however, is not an overmuscled, small-brained cartoon character.
1996 A. Walker & P. Shipman Wisdom of Bones iii. 45 By implication, small-brained creatures like Pithecanthropus could have no place in our direct ancestry.
small-breasted adj.
ΚΠ
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Bob-tail, (in Archery) the Steel of a shaft, or Arrow that is small-breasted, and big towards the Head.
1895 Morning Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) 19 May 17/7 All of the great poets have written of beautiful women as small-breasted.
1975 W. Kennedy Legs (1983) 107 He brought along his nephew, a young, half-drunk playwright named Weissberg, who in turn brought along a gum-chewing, small-breasted, brassiereless, and dirty little whore.
2011 Evening Star (Nexis) 2 Mar. The lads' mags don't want small-breasted girls.
small-celled adj.
ΚΠ
1842 W. Baly tr. J. Müller Elements Physiol. II. vii. §i. iii. 1440 The pith, which was hitherto colourless, develops now a dark green cone of small-celled tissue, surrounded by a sheath.
1914 Lancet-Clinic 14 Feb. 208/2 For a sarcoma that has been in existence any great length of time, especially one of the small celled varieties, the ultimate outlook is anything but flattering.
2011 Aquatic Bot. 95 95/2 Peripheral cells will differentiate to form a small-celled cortical layer up to 3 layers thick.
small-cornered adj.
ΚΠ
1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1437 Flowers..which turne into small cornered bladders..of winter Cherries.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum vi. xii. 747 This beautiful small plant sendeth forth divers slender branches somewhat wooddy, about a foote high,..with a small cornered leafe like the broad leafed wilde Arrache.
1707 H. Sloane Voy. Islands I. 120 From this Root rise very many one lnch and an half long, narrow, green. grassie Leaves, and from their middle small cornered five Inches high Stalks, of a pale green colour.
1836 P. F. Bowker Indian Veg. Family Instructer 19 From the upper joints..also stand yellow flowers,..with yellow threads in the middle, which turn into small round heads containing small cornered seeds.
1908 Bi-monthly Bull. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers May 402 The A rails show that occasionally there were entrained slag, gas, and other impurities at the junctions of the columnar structure of the small-cornered molds.
1964 Mod. Materials Handling 19 46/3 Fewer big-cornered big bags mean smaller losses than many small-cornered small bags.
small-eared adj.
ΚΠ
1625 G. Markham Inrichm. Weald of Kent 11 The Corne..will bee both small-eared and thicke, and slender of straw.
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming 330 The Crop becomes hopper, small ear'd, and will not yield like the large one.
1860 G. W. Thornbury in All Year Round 7 Jan. 257/1 They [sc. Turkish dogs] are not ridiculously small-eared, large-thighed, or large-jawed.
1998 P. O'Brian Hundred Days (1999) vii. 197 A very small-eared owl..uttered its modest song, ‘Tyu, tyu’, answered almost at once by another, a quarter of a mile away. ‘Tyu, tyu.’
small-faced adj.
ΚΠ
1678 J. P. tr. J. Johnstone Descr. Nature Four-footed Beasts iii. ii. 64/2 Small-faced he is.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 226 The same Letter..being adjudged too small-faced for..Small Pica.
1836 2nd Ann. Rep. London Union Compositors 19 Jan. in E. Howe London Compositor (1947) viii. 233 By a fount of one remove..the Trade will understand a small-faced letter cast upon a larger body—that is, upon a body the next in size to it.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 613/2 [Lawn tennis] Avoid lop-sided or small-faced rackets, and see that the grain in the frame runs equally round the face.
a1930 D. H. Lawrence Etruscan Places (1932) 143 A small~faced, weedy sort of youth.
1967 R. R. Karch & E. J. Buber Graphic Arts Procedures: Offset Processes iv. 78 Sizes range from a small-faced six point to a 13-point full point sized capital letter font.
2008 Gold Coast (Austral.) Bull. (Nexis) 29 Apr. 8 The..small-faced, double-diamond watch with the purple band..costs $4125.
† small-faithed adj. [after Hellenistic Greek ὀλιγόπιστος (New Testament)] Obsolete
ΚΠ
a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) vi. 38 How much moor ye smalfaithed men [Gk. ὀλιγόπιστοι], wil he cloth yow.
small-featured adj.
ΚΠ
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. at Woslie A term applied to a shrivelled, small-featured, and hard-looking person.
1969 Iraq 31 57 Two skulls..showed fine small-featured faces.
2007 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 Jan. 24 He is a stern-looking, small-featured man with hooded grey eyes and a calm, unreadable expression.
† small-fee'd adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 45 The leading Counsel in a small-fee'd Cause.
small-footed adj.
ΚΠ
1603 N. Breton Merrie Dialogue 10 A..faire handed, small footed, straight bodied..gentlewoman.
1861 All Year Round 12 Jan. 355/2 Mandarins . . burdened with idle small-footed wives.
1974 Encycl. Brit. VII. 450/1 An especially outstanding type of pottery, called ‘Nuzu ware’..because of its original discovery there, was characterized by one primary shape—a tall, slender, small-footed goblet—and an intricate black and white painted decoration.
2000 Nature Conservancy Nov. 37/1 The cave also supports a wintering population of the eastern small-footed bat and a colony of the mysteriously declining Allegheny woodrat.
small-grained adj.
ΚΠ
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 85 The small grained Sand is esteemed the best.
1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery i. 44 The Patna, or small-grained rice,..is not so good as the Carolina for the general purposes of cookery.
1995 Ital. Food & Wine Spring 38/2 A harmonious marriage of shrimp, bacon and farro (called spelt in English, an ancient variety of small-grained, reddish-brown wheat).
small-habited adj.
ΚΠ
1849 Ann. Hort. 269/2 These smaller habited Achimenes produce a great profusion of blossoms.
1850 G. Glenny Hand-bk. Flower Garden 21 They grow exceedingly well, especially all the smaller-habited kinds.
1970 C. Ingram Garden of Memories in Daily Tel. (Nexis) (2008) 8 Mar. 8 Small-habited and very floriferous species from Central Japan.
small-nosed adj.
ΚΠ
1819 H. H. Wilson Dict. in Sanscrit & Eng. 446/2 Smallnosed.
1856 U.S. Mag. Aug. 183/1 Napoleon gave small-nosed men a particularly wide berth.
1924 Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gaz. 23 May 6/2 Think of the large-nosed blond husbands who are married to small-nosed, brunette wives.
2002 J. Eugenides Middlesex iii. 296 What can I say about my well-bred, small-nosed, trust-funded schoolmates?
small-pored adj.
ΚΠ
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. 293 A fine small-pored white enamel.
1858 Horticulturist & Jrnl. Rural Art & Rural Taste 13 213 The quince and pear woods are so diverse in formation that the open-pored wood of the pear will not closely unite with the compact and smaller-pored wood of the quince.
1997 South Bend (Indiana) Tribune (Nexis) 1 Nov. c4 Gently rub non-oil stains counterclockwise using a soft, small-pored sponge.
† small-preferred adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 98 We must have a great care of comparing our small-prefer'd Clergy with those but of the like fortune in the Church of Rome.
small-propertied adj.
ΚΠ
1823 Lit. Examiner 13 Dec. 382 It is scarcely possible to imagine a species of. revival more nationally silly or socially injurious, than that of a vast body of small-propertied people, who are to be abstracted from every idea of increasing it, except at the public expence.
1951 C. W. Mills White Collar i. iii. 34 The ideology suitable for a nation of small capitalists persists, as if that small-propertied world were still a going concern.
1999 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 24 May a1 Robert Wood..was by then married and living the life of a small-propertied gentleman.
† small-reasoned adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1552 R. Record Ground of Artes (rev. ed.) Pref. to Edw. VI sig. A.iij In those small reasoned persons [is] a certayn kynd of reuerence toward wysedome and reason.
small-sized adj.
ΚΠ
1625 N. Carpenter tr. Lucretius in Geogr. Delineated ii. xii. 199 A small-siz'd waine Makes houses neere the way to shake amaine.
1780 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 70 App. p. xxxvii I have never succeeded in killing any rabbit (even the smallest-sized one) with it.
1894 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. II. 23 The spectacled bear of the Peruvian Andes..is a small-sized black species.
1991 Pract. Gardening Dec. 31/3 The apple ‘May Queen’ is a very small-sized true apple.
small-spored adj.
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1864 Jrnl. Proc. Linnean Soc.: Zool. 7 p. xxviii We learn that, even here, Marsilea and the small-spored Lycopodiaceæ seem to require further observation.
1910 E. R. Stitt Pract. Bacteriol., Blood Work & Animal Parasitol. (ed. 2) 111 Microsporum audoini.—This is the so-called small-spored ringworm and is a very common and highly contagious affection of the scalp in children.
2005 Mycologia 97 922/2 We hypothesize that the tiny ascospores of certain Xylaria species..are ingested by termites and that these small-spored taxa have evolved with the insect.
small-tailed adj.
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1792 Ann. Agric. 17 243 These small tailed bodies, which in some sort resemble spermaceti worms, may easily be taken for small live eels.
1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. II. iii. 107 The flesh is inferior to that of the small-tailed sheep.
1987 Toronto Star (Nexis) 10 Mar. n2 The yellow and turquoise castle will also be home to aquariums filled with fish, frogs and Newton the newt (a small-tailed amphibian).
small-timbered adj.
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1602 T. Dekker Blurt Master-Constable sig. B4 A Gallant that hides his small timbred legs, with a quaile-pipe boote.
1651 T. Gataker in T. Fuller Abel Redevivus 462 He was a man of middle stature,..small timbered.
1884 Baily's Mag. Dec. 210 With boyish glee they ride over some small-timbered, ditchless fences on the line for a well-known covert.
1987 E. A. J. Honigmann John Weever v. 46 Weever himself mentioned that he was a noticeably small man, and Tucca coined a very odd name for Bubo, that small-timbered gentleman—'sheep-skin-weaver'.
small-toothed adj.
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1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Vmbrine A great-eyed, round-tongued, small-toothed, and holesome sea-fish.
1802 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 92 350 Each row looks somewhat like a small-toothed comb.
1980 J. M. Auel Clan of Cave Bear (1991) xiii. 227 He blunted the back of the denticulated tool and reexamined the small-toothed saw he had just made.
2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures II. 630/1 Very few specimens have been observed since this long-snouted, small-toothed mongoose was discovered in 1957 by Hans Himmelheber.
small-typed adj.
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1813 J. Bentham Swear not at All 25 In the 864 small-typed pages of a quarto volume..not the least trace of an affidavit..could be discovered.
1891 T. Hardy Let. 4 Mar. (1978) I. 230 My own occupation at present is that of correcting a bundle of miserably small-typed proofs.
1902 M. Beerbohm in Sat. Rev. 15 Nov. 612/2 The authentic ‘star’..is a no greater person than small-typed, smuggled-in ‘J. M. Barrie’.
2008 Austral. Doctor (Nexis) 2 May 8 The risk from look-alike terms was increased if clinicians had to read handwriting or small-typed print, especially in low light.
small-voiced adj.
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1678 J. P. tr. J. Johnstone Descr. Nature Four-footed Beasts ii. ii. 45/2 Sharp-sighted they [sc. roe] are; small voyced: they shed not their teeth; spotted; some spots are white.
1836 O. W. Holmes Poems 127 The small-voiced pug-dog welcomes in the sun, And flea-bit mongrels..give answer all.
1933 Musical Times 74 635/2 There are hundreds of gifted amateurs dotted about the country who sing as well as three-fourths of our small-voiced professionals.
2011 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 4 June r7 This is a trim, textured album featuring very little guitar work, with the small-voiced Gibbard mostly concerned with homelands and obstructions.
small-waisted adj.
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1738 Universal Hist. III. ii. 839 They [sc. Georgian women] are of a full size, clean-limbed, small-waisted, fair, and well-proportioned.
1886 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Jrnl. 30 Apr. 1/7 You see it is fashionable for ladies to be broad shouldered and small waisted.
1986 D. Koontz Strangers i. ii. 156 If you were already small-waisted, with generous breasts..the getup made you look almost freakishly erotic.
2009 New Yorker 31 Aug. 64/2 Long-haired, short-legged Argentine men and big-hatted, small-waisted Argentine women triple-kissed and traded remarks about how late they had slept.
small-windowed adj.
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1822 New Monthly Mag. 5 502 All this, and much more, rushed on my mind on looking at the short-set, small-windowed, narrow-doored, two-storied residences ranged on the Quay of Dover.
1930 W. de la Mare Poems for Children 35 The small-windowed moonlit house.
1976 Times 21 Aug. 12/3 One-storeyed, small-windowed cottages.
2003 Florida Times-Union (Nexis) 2 June c1 Inside the temple, exhibit areas are taking shape, the small-windowed rooms where bats and poisonous tree frogs will soon reside.
b. In the common names of animals, plants, and other organisms.
ΚΠ
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Loche de mer, a little fish..; some call it a sea Groundling. Lochette, a Groundling, or small-bearded Loach.
1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) ii. dxxi. 1241 (caption) Scorpoides Leguminosa. Small Horned pulse.
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 168 The small-eared, very thin Pecten.
1789 J. Pilkington View Derbyshire I. viii. 439 Malva parviflora, small-flowered, or dwarf Mallow.
1803 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. ii. 514 Small-Scaled Labrus, Labrus Microlepidotus.
1822 S. Clarke Hortus Anglicus II. 86 Leonurus Marrubiastrum. Small-flowered Motherwort.
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes II. 367 The Small-spotted Dog-fish.
c1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. II. 241 The Small-nailed Seal (Phoca leptonyx).
1894 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. II. 293 The small-horned gazelle (Gazella leptoceros) of the Sudan.
1924 W. H. Fitch et al. Illustr. Brit. Flora (ed. 5) 6 Ranunculus parviflorus L. Small-flowered buttercup; y[ellow].
1968 H. O. Mackey & J. P. Mackey Handbk. Dis. Skin (ed. 9) xiii. 106 Tinea capitis..is a common contagious infection caused commonly by the microsporon (small-spore ringworm).
1988 Nature Conservancy May 30/2 A boggy wetland that supports 26 rare plant species, including the globally imperiled small-headed pipewort.
2002 National Geographic July 66/2 Flying foxes, Oriental small-clawed otters, bear cats, civets, and stink badgers root about its thickness.
C2. With nouns forming compounds used attributively. N.E.D. (1912) notes that compounds of this type ‘are very numerous in recent newspaper usage'.
small-angle adj.
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1872 Photogr. Mosaics 190 (advt.) Ross's small angle Doublets.
1960 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 254 242 (heading) The small-angle scattering of photons.
2009 G. C. King Vibrations & Waves i. 25 These results demonstrate that the small-angle approximation is valid in this case.
small-band adj.
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1941 Jazz Information Nov. 25/2 They are the best jazz recordings of the New Orleans small-band type.
1995 Guardian 9 Mar. ii. 15/1 Lyrical small-band thirties swing.
small-boat adj.
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1852 B. J. Lossing Pict. Field-bk. Revol. II. Suppl. 645/2 The first small-boat expedition of consequence.
1998 Yachts & Yachting 10 July 128/1 Dinghy update: Stay ahead of the smallboat fleet this summer with Y&Y's regular look at goings on, gear and a whole lot more of interest to the dinghy fanatic.
small-budget adj.
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1935 Hutchinson (Kansas) News 6 Dec. 6/8 (advt.) Today's biggest value in a battery table model! Small-budget homes without electricity can now enjoy the finest in foreign broadcasts with this marvelous 6-tube superhet Silvertone! Air-plane dial.
1961 Times 31 July 14/7 Hardly anyone in Hollywood makes small-budget pictures any more.
2007 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 30 Aug. 44/1 Once, the small-budget Irish story that's the leader in the race to be this year's most charming and endearing film.
small-calibre adj.
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1837 W. J. Neale Gentleman Jack xxxviii. 222 The lieutenant..gave them to understand that it was merely one of the small calibre guns, to point out that the hour had commenced, and that the red flag was hoisted.
1896 Spectator 31 Oct. 589/1 If it be suitable, the small-calibre bullet will do much more damage.
1996 Independent 17 Oct. i. 1/7 A similar penalty will apply to people who keep the permitted small-calibre handguns outside gun clubs.
small-capitalization adj.
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1935 Profits in Stock Market (H. M. Gartley, Inc.) xvii. 5 The number of 10 per cent swings in the large capitalization issues ranged from 11 to 32 during the period; while in the four small capitalization stocks, they ranged from 33 to 49.
1992 Bottom Line 15 Dec. 4/2 I think that small-capitalization mutual funds..are the best way for individual investors to proceed.
2012 Pensions & Investm. (Nexis) 2 Apr. 4 A task force survey of more than 100 CEOs of companies considering an IPO found that only 9% considered the small-capitalization market accessible.
small-car adj.
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1924 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 86/2 How a small-car garage was expanded to make room for a larger car.
1952 Listener 12 June 949/1 The small-car driver was learning how to handle 120 horsepower with some semblance of confidence.
2002 Business Week 1 Apr. 40/2 Lutz plans to change that by using GMs small-car plants to crank out a cornucopia of hip vehicles that don't have the ‘econobox’ stigma of GM's current offerings.
small-circulation adj.
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1907 Printers' Ink 28 Aug. 1/2 (advt.) How many classes of dealers are carrying your stock?.. Is a big list of ‘small circulation’ magazines failing?
1947 Picture Post 22 Mar. 12/2 There has been something of a black market in paper, but it is an affair which affects only a few book publishers and the producers of small-circulation journals.
2001 Jrnl. Asian Stud. 60 976 Relying on public rallies and small-circulation newspapers, the ‘freedom and popular rights movement’..mounted an antigovernment campaign.
small-city adj.
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1883 Boston Daily Globe 13 June (Suppl.) Doctors were present from all parts of the State—the country-town physicians, the small-city physicians and the large-city physicians.
1964 S. M. Miller in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 292 The small-town and small-city poor suffer from the demise of local industry.
1992 R. Manning Swamp Root Chron. i. 29 Save for the meager forays into literature that a mediocre small-city school system required.
small-claims adj.
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1915 Daily Chron.-Examiner (Centralia, Washington) 2 Feb. 6/1 Eight new bills were introduced in the house, among them one by Lane of King providing for a ‘small claims’ court where financial disputes of small amounts may be fought out without much expense to the contestants.
1972 M. Kaye Lively Game of Death vii. 38 I simply threatened him with Small Claims Court... The maximum claim there is five hundred dollars.
1995 H. Engel Getting away with Murder (1996) i. 2 I wasn't working on a big case, just a couple of small-claims cases and a trail of credit-card flimsies.
small-college adj.
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1825 Westm. Rev. Oct. 410 Not being able readily to come at the document in question, did he consign it over..to that sepulchre of learning, a small-college library, as the safest depository for state secrets?
1840 W. M. Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story viii Tufthunt was a small-college man of no family.
1951 N. Annan Leslie Stephen i. 24 A small-College man had made wonderful progress during the vacation.
2001 Furrow Mar. 33/1 And what name could be more fitting than ‘Wheat Bowl’ for a major small-college football tilt held in this little town of less than 2,300 residents?
small-farm adj.
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1800 J. S. Girdler Observ. Pernicious Consequences Forestalling vii. 58 We might, in that case, again experience the blessings of small-farm agriculture.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 60/3 This pinpoints the need for a cheaper small-farm tank of from 80 to 125 gallons capacity.
1994 Harrowsmith June 28/1 From the beginning, birds were big in our small-farm husbandry.
small-gauge adj.
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1859 Daily News 13 Dec. 4/5 All small-gauge barrels present the disadvantage of not giving room to the foulness which accumulates.
1957 R. Frankenberg Village on Border 10 The small-gauge railway.
a1976 A. Christie Autobiogr. (1977) vi. i. 296 An expedition in a small-gauge train.
1987 J. Epstein Once more around Block 112 It takes a big-hearted snob, don't you think, to admit to a small-gauge error.
small-group adj.
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1906 Jrnl. Nerv. & Mental Dis. July 442 Small schoolrooms, adapted to individual or small group instruction must be the unit underlying the general architectural plan for the school department.
1951 in J. H. Rohrer & M. Sherif Social Psychol. at Crossroads 333 The very few small-group studies made in recent years.
1972 G. Little in G. W. Turner Good Austral. Eng. vii. 135 The pupils sit in groups face to face, and pursue a variety of small-group activities.
1974 Melody Maker 13 Apr. 50/7 A lovely example of small-group jazz by players who have worked together.
2009 N.Y. Mag. 1 June 28/3 She saw four kindergartners huddled around a single desk for small-group math.
small-letter adj.
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1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. 81 Of these Small-letter Sorts, some are lodged in the Upper-case.
1824 Edinb. Mag. & Literary Misc. June 685/2 One would almost imagine that this licentious speech from the lips of Iago..hardly required any serious comment... More than three pages of small-letter print are devoted to its analysis,—and a strange analysis it is!
1945 E. Johnston Writing & Illuminating xv. 263 More time and material than a Small-letter MS. entails.
2002 F. Ungerer in A. Fischer et al. Text Types & Corpora 97 The Daily Telegraph..still provided a section on law cases... Each item was introduced by a small-letter headline.
small-master adj.
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1806 Literary Panorama Oct. 124 Several thousands of these small master manufacturers attend the market of Leeds, where there are three halls for the exposure and sale of their cloths.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 331/2 The last mentioned of the several modes..is the ‘small-master system’.
1988 A. J. Scott Metropolis v. 70 The London industry dwindled considerably and was left to specialize more and more in those few lines of production where the small master system could still operate efficiently.
small-note adj.
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1797 Gen. Evening Post 4 Mar. County small-note bill.
1825 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 12 Nov. 402 The injury recently done to about forty thousand poor families..by the Small-note Bill.
1996 W. G. Shade Democratizing Old Dominion v. 170 The Whigs..extended further relief to the banks and passed a small-note bill.
small pattern adj.
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1798 Oracle & Public Advertiser 14 Feb. 1/2 Fifty pieces of elegant small pattern fashionable..Muslins.
1852 G. Dubourg Violin (ed. 4) ix. 349 Lorenzio Guadagnini..copied the small-pattern fiddles of his master.
1998 Houston Chron. (Nexis) 14 May 8 I showed up the next day wearing a small-pattern beige dress and a slightly darker tan tweed jacket, looking like everybody's sister or mother.
small-plane adj.
ΚΠ
1923 San Antonio (Texas) Express 20 May 12/2 Each of the students now is proficient in small plane flying, having received practically all of the instructions in stunting and aerial acrobatics that they will get.
1964 G. Lyall Most Dangerous Game vi. 42 He was the only other pilot doing small-plane charter work in Lapland that year.
1990 Film Comment Mar. 7/1 Blair Brown, injured in a small-plane crash, walks down through wilderness and hallucination, and totters into what I think is Bishop.
small-power adj.
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1863 Evening Herald 14 May 2/6 The company had not always been in its present satisfactory state, for at one time it had only the contract to the Brazils, where it was liable to meet with a competition from small-power screw steamers.
1956 Nature 18 Feb. 322/2 Specifications for two light-weight small-power sprayers.
1991 PSE&G Ann. Rep. (inside front cover) These activities include investments, oil and gas exploration and production, cogeneration and small-power production.
small-sample adj.
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1939 Social Forces 18 288/2 The topics covered are those of elementary statistics, a companion volume on small-sample techniques being promised later.
1968 Brit. Med. Bull. 24 220/2 The calculations in the program have been written for the particular needs of the medical research worker; thus ‘small sample’ statistical theory is well represented.
2005 Modesto Bee (Nexis) 1 June c1 During his playing career, which included 13 major league seasons, Hill developed a small-sample technique.
small-shop adj.
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1868 G. Meredith Let. Oct. (1970) I. 376 Eleven a.m. plates of small-shop ham, thick cut, grisly with brine: four smashed eggs on it.
1967 R. R. Karch & E. J. Buber Graphic Arts Procedures: Offset Processes ii. 9 The graphic arts is a small-shop industry. Only about 1,000 plants employ more than 100 employees, and the average is 17.
1993 Evening Sun (Baltimore) 8 Apr. e6/1 Van Riper's people are mostly traditional and rural. They're..the small-shop owners who sell crafts or antiques; and folks who've been around a long time, like Miz Annie Parkes, 91.
small-signal adj.
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1946 Jrnl. Appl. Physics 17 1025 These reduce to a linear homogeneous system under the assumption of ‘small signal’ conditions.
1989 P. Horowitz & W. Hill Art of Electronics (ed. 2) iv. 218/2 The so-called guard circuits used for high-impedance or small-signal measurements.
2011 D. J. Dailey Electronics for Guitarists iii. 51 We will examine some common small-signal amplifier circuits using bipolar and field effect transistors.
small-size adj.
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1757 London Chron. 27 Sept. 312/2 The small Size Bottle.
1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 44 Small-size garnets are found..in this claim.
1998 Coin News May 47/1 The small-size notes of the 1965–1990 series are being de-monetised shortly.
small-step adj.
ΚΠ
1911 Psychol. Bull. 8 240 The first paper gives results of work in which the weak element of each third measure of ‘iambic’ or ‘trochaic’ auditory rhythm was displaced (delayed) by the small step procedure.
1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors xv. 372 The equivalent circuits..may be used in the determination of the transient response of video amplifiers by estimating their time of response to a small-step input of current or voltage.
2001 Express (Nexis) 10 Dec. 51 The majority of patents are for small-step improvements in known technology.
small-tooth adj.
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1676 C. Cotton Compl. Angler vii. 59 Take a small tooth comb, and with it comb the neck of a black Grey hound.
1732 Acc. of Workhouses 40 Their heads combed with small tooth combs every morning.
1899 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ Some Experiences Irish R.M. (1901) iv. 96 If it was any of those mountainy men did away with him you might scrape Ireland with a small-tooth comb and you'll not get him.
1994 Essence (Nexis) Feb. 16 Claw combs are the cat's meow! Small-tooth ones ‘feather’ shorter hair and pixie cuts.
2000 Times Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 21 Apr. 52 The girl, miserably enduring her fate, refuses to call her captor anything other than a great big horrid small-tooth dog.
small-type adj.
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1832 Ann. Reg. 1831 i. Hist. Europe 241/2 He must have read in that journal, and that not in a small type paragraph, on a back page, but in a conspicuous column, in large Roman capitals, an article which was neither more nor less than an appeal to the soldiery to commit mutiny and treason.
1962 R. Williams Brit. in Sixties: Communications iii. 58 Regular columns of close print, with small-type headlines.
1976 Amer. Speech 1974 49 267 Good lexicography keeps open a variety of approaches to defining, which include..exploiting small-type notes for added comment.
2008 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 21 Oct. c2 She too often was just another name in the tournament results somewhere down the small-type print in the newspaper listings.
C3. Forming the names of plants and animals.
a.
(a) In the names of animals, esp. those that are smaller than related or similar forms.
ΚΠ
1673 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words 94 The small black Gull: Larus niger, vel Larus piscator.
1734 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds II. 67 The small Water-Hen.
1754 M. Catesby & G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Carolina (rev. ed.) I. 80 The small Bittern.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 104 The Palmers. 6. The small Red Spinners. 6.
1840 F. D. Bennett Narr. Whaling Voy. II. 72 That curious fish, the Leptocephalus, or ‘small-head’.
1846 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 171 The Small Copper [Butterfly] again made its appearance.
1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 550 ‘Small Herring’, ‘Anchovies,’ ‘Skarp Herring.’
1921 Forest & Stream Feb. 72/2 The writer came upon a large school of the small dolphin (Coryphaena equisetis) in the tropical Pacific.
1953 Irish Naturalists' Jrnl. 10 301 The reported migration of some thousand Bombus lucorum, the Small Earth Humble Bee.
2005 Independent 10 Dec. 13/3 The small blue is one of our rarest butterflies and it needs the kidney vetch to survive.
(b)
small tortoiseshell n. a common Eurasian nyphalid butterfly, Aglais urticae, which has orange-red wings boldly marked with black and yellow, and whose larvae feed on stinging nettles.
ΚΠ
1773 Wilkes' Eng. Moths & Butterflies (new ed.) 56 Figure 4 represents, the Small Tortoise-Shell-Butterfly, which is very common, and breeds twice a Year.
1885 Times 24 Dec. 14/4 The fourth class..includes our several species of vanessa, such as the red admiral, peacock, and small tortoiseshell.
1927 F. Balfour-Browne Insects viii. 196 The caterpillars of the common ‘Small Tortoise-shell’ Butterfly (Vanessa urticæ ) or of the ‘Peacock’ (Vanessa io)..spin a fine web around the nettle-heads.
2009 Daily Tel. 8 Apr. 10/8 More regular garden visitors, including the orange-tip and the small tortoiseshell are becoming an increasingly rare sight.
small white n. a common pierid butterfly, Peiris rapae, native to Eurasia and North Africa but introduced elsewhere, which has chiefly white wings and is a pest of cabbages and related plants; frequently attributive; cf. cabbage white n. at cabbage n.1 Compounds 4.
ΚΠ
1773 Wilkes' Eng. Moths & Butterflies (new ed.) 50 The Small White Garden-butterfly breeds twice a Year: The first Brood is at the Beginning of May, and the second in July.
1865 Intellect. Observer No. 47. 396 The small white cabbage-butterfly (Pieris Rapæ).
1940 Jrnl. Animal Ecol. 9 244 The three common British Pierines are the small white (P. rapae (L.)), the large white (P. brassicae (L.)) and the green-veined white (P. napi (L.)).
2011 National Trust Mag. Summer 51/2 Feel unabashed at lumping small and Essex skippers together and treating the large and small whites as ‘cabbage whites’.
b.
(a) In the names of plants which are typically small in stature, or have small leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. Of the many examples, only a few are illustrated here.small dragonwort, fennel-flower, henbit, lupine, etc.: see the second element. [Already frequent in Old English, as e.g. in smale attorlāþe (perhaps) the smaller fumitory (see atterlothe n.) and in smale clāte (see clote n.), smale clife (see cleavers n.), smale cliðwyrt (see clithers n.), all names for cleavers or goosegrass (compare discussion at cleavers n.). As plant identification in Old English sources is often uncertain, it is not clear whether in early use the word always refers to small stature or the small size of leaves, etc., or whether it may not sometimes refer to slenderness of stature or narrowness of leaves, etc. (compare sense A. 2).]
ΚΠ
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. l. 124 Gif wyrm hand ete, genim merscmeargeallan & reade netlan & reade doccan & smæle clifan, wyl on cubuteran.
OE Lacnunga (2001) I. cxxi. 86 Hindheoloðan & ða smalan cliðwyrt & wuduhrofan & pollegian.
lOE Durham Plant Gloss. 8 Acantaleuca, smelthistel.
c1450 Med. Recipes (BL Add. 33996) in F. Heinrich Mittelengl. Medizinbuch (1896) 128 Take þe roote of þe smale clote.
a1500 in T. Hunt Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 149 [Ippia Minor] chykenmete, smalwort.
1597 J. Gerard Herball i. ii. 3 Small hard grasse hath small rootes compact of little strings or threds, from the which come foorth many sower, rushie leaues.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum xv. iii. 1328 Enfragia minima. Small Eyebright. This small Eyebright groweth not much above two inches high, having narrower and smaller leaves thereto then the former.
1795 J. Berkenhout Synopsis Nat. Hist. Great Brit. II. 49 Galium..Anglicum. Small Cleavers. Stem from a foot to a foot and half high, three cornered.
1866 20th Ann. Rep. Ohio State Board Agric. 1865 113 The small pimpernel (P. saxifraga) is grown in meadows and pastures, and is believed to increase the flow of milk.
1878 J. B. Killebrew Grasses Tennessee 184 The small fescue has a spike-like panicle, somewhat one-sided, from seven to nine flowered.
1904 Garden 24 Sept. 202/1 Small Burnet is a hardy plant, growing in almost any soil, of small size, with light foliage easily renewed.
1944 Jrnl. Wildlife Managem. 8 14/2 Small pondweed (Potamogeton pusillus) has small seeds and spikes and produced only 0.2 cc. of seed to a square meter.
1966 Castanea 31 12 Here are found both the large and small cranberry as well as numerous other typical bog plants.
2008 Weed Sci. 56 870/1 Occasionally it [sc. smooth cordgrass] hybridized with the native small cordgrass (Spartima maritime..), but these hybrids were sterile.
(b)
small basil n. [after Middle French petit basilic (1549 or earlier; 1557 in the source translated in quot. 1578; also basilic petit (1579 or earlier); French petit basilic). Dodoens's Dutch name for the plant is edele basilicom (1554), lit. ‘noble basil’] now rare a kind of basil, Ocimum minimum, with small leaves which are used as a culinary herb; also called bush basil.
ΚΠ
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 240 Busshe Basill, or small Basill gentle.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum 19 This small Basill groweth not so like any of the former Bassills, or the small fine bush Bassill, in the bushing branches thereof, but rather somewhat resembling the wild Bassill, or Clinopodium.
1735 J. Keogh Bot. Univ. Hibernica 10 Small Basil, Lat. Basilicon minus. It is not much unlike the former, but the Leaves are much smaller.
1881 J. M. Nickell Bot. Ready Ref. 95 Ocimum Caryophyllatum, Small Basil.
1922 E. Kremers tr. E. Gildemeister & F. R. Hoffmann Volatile Oils 576 It contains eugenol as does the oil of the small basil, Ocimum minimum, L.
1995 Herb Q. 66 37/3 Spoon onto crostini and garnish with small basil or Italian parsley leaves.
small bugloss n. [after Middle French petite buglosse (1557 in the source translated in quot. 1578), itself after Dutch †cleyne ossentonghe (1554 in Dodoens)] the common European bugloss, Anchusa (formerly Lycopsis) arvensis, with blue flowers.In quot. 1640 perhaps: a red flowered echium.
ΚΠ
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. iii. 8 The wilde kinde of Buglosse is like to the small Buglosses..sauing the leaues be rougher, smaller, and narrower.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum 765 (caption) Small Buglosse with red flowers.
1799 R. E. Hunter Short Descr. Isle Thanet 90 Small Bugloss, in corn fields, near Birchington.
1896 Irish Naturalist 5 283 All these have grown from seed which I scattered, and may no more be counted natives than the small Bugloss (Lycopsis arvensis).
1957 Amer. Midland Naturalist 58 52 Small Bugloss. In fields and waste places.
2004 M. J. Dwelley Summer & Fall Wildflowers of New Eng. (ed. 2) 287 Small Bugloss grows in fields and along sandy or dry roadsides or near unkept dwellings.
small chaffweed n. now rare the bastard pimpernel, Anagallis minima.
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1830 W. J. Hooker Brit. Flora 68 C. minimus, Linn. (Small Chaffweed or Bastard Pimpernel).
1868 E. Lees Bot. Malvern Hills (ed. 3) 46 Centunculus. C. minimus. Small chaffweed. Rare... A very minute plant.
1907 F. H. Arnold Flora of Sussex (ed. 2) 90 Small Chaffweed.
1910 M. McNeill Colonsay 353 C[entunculus] minimus, L.—Small Chaffweed; Bastard Pimpernel. Traigh Staosnaig and Balanahard [sic].
† small currant n. Obsolete rare a variety of redcurrant, Ribes rubrum.
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1776 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Veg. Great Brit. I. 135 Ribes fructu parvo... Small currants. In Wimbleton Park, Surry; and many places in Lancashire.
1797 Botanist's Cal. I. 89 Red Currants. Woods in the northern counties. Var. 2. Sweet Currants. Var. 3. Small currants.
small fleabane n. any of several plants of the family Asteraceae ( Compositae) (see fleabane n.); esp. an annual European plant, Pulicaria vulgaris, with multiple, compact yellow flower heads on branched reddish stems, typically found on sandy, winter-flooded grazing land.
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1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) i. 41 Small Fleabane... In places where water has stood in winter.
1771 R. Warner Plantae Woodfordienses 39 Small Fleabane. Found in places where there have been stagnated waters in winter.
1851 G. Emerson Farmer's & Planter's Encycl. Rural Affairs 486/2 The small fleabane..grows on moist sandy spots.
1885 Science 24 Apr. 350/2 Then the small fleabane (Erigeron divaricatum) abounded on dry soils: now it is rapidly disappearing.
1922 N. Blanchan Nature's Garden 74 The wavy or various-leaved aster or small fleabane (A.[ster]undulatus) has a stiff, rough, hairy, widely branching stalk, whose thick, rough lowest leaves are heart-shaped.
1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 364/2 Small fleabane, P. vulgaris,..is now virtually confined to pond-edges, cart-ruts and the damp, pony-grazed ‘lawns’ of the New Forest.
2008 Bournemouth Echo (Nexis) 3 Oct. He pointed out that..small fleabane plants also need soil disturbance to survive.
small hartwort n. now rare any of several plants of the genus Tordylium (family Apiaceae ( Umbelliferae)); esp. T. officinale, (formerly) used medicinally, and T. apulum, having edible leaves.
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1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 287 Tordylium officinale.., Small Hartwort.
1899 E. Step Pratt’s Flowering Plants Great Brit. (new ed.) II. 67 Small Hartwort (T. officinále)... This Hartwort, which has pinkish-white flowers, on a hairy stem, about a foot high, was described by our early botanists as growing in the neighbourhood of London.
2003 A. Dalby Food in Anc. World 173/2 Tordylium Apulum, small hartwort, is said to be still used for food in Greece.
† small hen's foot n. Obsolete rare bur parsley, Caucalis platycarpos.
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1789 J. Berkenhout Synopsis Nat. Hist. Great Brit. & Irel. II. 92 Caucalis... Daucoides. Small Hen's-foot. Stem straggling, angular, scored, hairy.
1889 W. M. Hind & C. Babington Flora of Suffolk 176 C. daucoides, Linn. Small Hensfoot.
† small honesty n. Obsolete any of various plants of the genus Dianthus; = pink n.5 1a.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > pinks or carnations
gillyflower1517
carnation1538
clove gillyflower1538
incarnation1538
William1538
pink1566
John1572
Indian eye1573
sops-in-wine1573
sweet John1573
sweet-william1573
tuft gillyflower1573
Colmenier1578
small honesty1578
tol-me-neer1578
London tuft1597
maidenly pink1597
mountain pink1597
clove-carnation1605
musk-gillyflower1607
London pride1629
pride of London1629
maiden pink1650
Indian pink1664
Spanish pink1664
pheasant's eye pink1718
flake1727
flame1727
picotee1727
old man's head1731
painted lady1731
piquet1731
China-pink1736
clove1746
wild pink1753
lime-wort1777
matted thrift1792
clove-pink1837
Cheddar Pink1843
Dianthus1849
bunch pink1857
perpetual-flowering carnation1861
cliff pink1863
meadow pink1866
musk carnation1866
Jack1873
wax-pink1891
Malmaison1892
grenadin1904
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. vii. 156 Called in Englishe by diuers names, as Pynkes, Soppes in wine, feathered Gillofers, and small Honesties.
1597 J. Gerard Herball Sig. Eeeee4 Small Honestie, that is Pincks.
1659 R. Lovell Παμβοτανολογια 209 Small honesty, see Pinks.
† small morel n. Obsolete rare (probably) black nightshade, Solanum nigrum; = petty morel n. 1.
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c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 612/30 Solatrum i. morella, smalmorell.
small nettle n. a relatively small annual stinging nettle, Urtica urens, native to Eurasia and introduced to North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
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1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Abstringents The most proper on this occasion are decoctions of leaves, ground-ivy, speedwell, and small nettle.
1879 J. G. Wood Nat. Hist. Rambles xii. 189 Any one can see and avoid an ordinary stinging-nettle, but the small nettle lurks unsuspected among the herbage, and is often felt before it is seen.
1907 D. C. Gilman et al. New Internat. Encycl. XIV. 407/2 The small nettle..and the great nettle..introduced European species, are abundant in America.
2010 Herald Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 11 Sept. 19 One is urtica urens, commonly known as small nettle, which has been listed as a mild noxious weed in Western Australia.
† small nut n. Obsolete the nut of the European hazel, Corylus avellana; a hazelnut.
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?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 46 (MED) Oyle of walnotis, fylberdis, and of smale notys.
1556 J. Bradford Let. declaring Nature of Spaniardes sig. F.ii Small nuttes, and wall nuttes, cheries, and chest nuttes, plumbes, damassens, philbeardes and al both gret & smal whatsoeuer thei maye se to fede the pore conmenalte.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum 1416 In English Filberd, for the manured kinde, and Hasell nut, Wood nut, or small nut, for the wilde kinde.
1769 P. Miller Gardeners Kalendar (ed. 15) 374 As also Medlars, Services, Almonds, some Grapes, where they have been carefully preserved, Chestnuts, Walnuts, and small Nuts.
1872 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 26 Apr. 476/1 A great advance has been made in the consumption of sweet almonds, walnuts, small nuts, and cocoanuts.
small reed n. (more fully small reed grass) any of several perennial grasses of (or formerly of) the genus Calamagrostis, found in North temperate climates; also with distinguishing word.
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1724 J. J. Dillenius Ray's Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Brit. (ed. 3) 401 Calamagrostis minor glumis rufis & viridibus... Small Reed-grass.
1859 A. Pratt Brit. Grasses & Sedges 67–8 Calamagrostis lanceolata. Purple-Flowered Small-reed. Calamagrostis stricta. Narrow Small-reed.
1903 Trans. Perthshire Soc. Nat. Sci. 3 (Winter Sess. 1898–99) p. xlix A patch of the small reed grass Calamagrostis Epigeios was visited... The plant is rare in Perthshire, and was found in a vigorous condition.
2010 M. Archer et al. Bird Observatories Brit. & Irel. 272 The small reed is the food plant of a moth, the Kent Black Arches, and is the favoured nesting haunt for Harvest Mice.
† small woodruff n. Obsolete squinancywort, Asperula cynanchica.
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1789 W. Aiton Hortus Kewensis I. 141 Small Woodroof, or Squinancy-wort.
1843 Sat. Mag. 29 Apr. 159/2 Another kind of woodruff must here be named, because it is very likely to be mistaken for the former [sc. sweet woodruff]... It is the small woodruff.
1902 J. C. Wright Bygone Eastbourne 324 The small Woodruff or Squinancy Wort and the Field Madder, which it closely resembles, are common.
C4. See also potato n. 4a, raisin n. Phrases 1, trunk n., etc., and small arms n., small beer n., small clothes n.
small ad n. = small advertisement n.
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society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > advertising > advertising in the press > [noun] > types of press advertisement
lost1762
lost(s) and founds1777
small advertisement1811
blind advertisement1842
want advertisementa1871
reading notice1872
small ad1875
want ad1892
classified1909
smalls1919
tombstone1948
tele ad1967
matrimonials1989
1875 Amer. Swine & Poultry Jrnl. Oct. 66/2 Your paper comes to me in its new dress,..and, to show my appreciation of it, I enclose cash and name of a new subscriber; also a small ‘Ad.’ that I hope to increase the size of when ‘oil goes up’.
1881 Poultry Monthly (Albany, N.Y.) Jan. 212 The following note attests the popularity of our small ads: Gentlemen: Please find enclosed amount to cover insertion for January card.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. 153 Best paper by long chalks for a small ad.
1978 J. Wainwright Ripple of Murders 11 A small ad. in the Personal Column..will read, ‘J. D. Message received.’
2007 Independent 30 Jan. 7/1 The small-ads at the back featured all manner of practical jokery.
small advertisement n. an advertisement in a newspaper, usually in a special classified section and printed in normal or small type with lack of display.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > advertising > advertising in the press > [noun] > types of press advertisement
lost1762
lost(s) and founds1777
small advertisement1811
blind advertisement1842
want advertisementa1871
reading notice1872
small ad1875
want ad1892
classified1909
smalls1919
tombstone1948
tele ad1967
matrimonials1989
1811 Times 3 Sept. 3/2 Before the Revolution there was only a single newspaper for small advertisements..entitled Journal General de France.
1873 Rowell's Amer. Newspaper Directory 291 Our terms... Small advertisements and special notices 25 cents per line. Advertisements larger than a square, or with cuts, inserted on reasonable terms.
1919 Times 6 Nov. 2 Small Advertisement order form.
1937 M. Allingham Dancers in Mourning xxiii. 285 Uncle William put down The Times. He had been looking at the small advertisements.
1991 C. James Brrm! Brrm! (1992) i. 18 Illustrations..in the small advertisements for such harmless devices as double-pronged spiked vibrators.
Small-Back n. rare Death, imagined as a skeleton.
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the world > life > death > [noun] > personified or as an agent
deathOE
dragon?a1513
stinger1552
stretch-legc1560
king of terrors1610
divorcer?1611
reaper1650
raw-bone1784
Small-Back1823
grim reaper1847
the great or last enemy1885
scytheman1909
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. xiv. 350 Men have queer fancies when old Small-Back is griping them; but Small-Back must lead down the dance with us all in our time.
1830 Museum of Foreign Lit. & Sci. 17 553/2 A child may recognise the presence of Old Small Back himself.
1916 Boston Globe 2 Apr. (Color & Comic section) 11/3 ‘Dead,’ repeated Mr Swayne dully; ‘dead. Charles Romaine gone. It seems impossible! But the best of us must go, when old “small-back” grips us. We cannot dodge him forever.’
1955 Recorded Interview (Univ. Edinb.: School of Sc. Stud. Sound Archive) (SA1955.67.B3) (MS transcript) Ah well, if Smaa Back comes doon the brae the morn, I can hae no reflections. I've had a good innins, by plenty.
small ball n. Baseball a style of offensive play that focuses on advancing runners methodically through base hits and tactical plays (such as sacrifice hits and squeeze bunts), rather than by attempting to hit home runs or extra-base hits; also figurative.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [noun] > batting > types of play
triple play1869
squeeze play1905
safety squeeze1922
small ball1986
1986 Atlanta Jrnl.-Constit. 17 Apr. d1 The offense..has resorted to the small-ball inning. They scored in the third..on two hits, a walk and a safety squeeze.
1987 Dallas Morning News 7 Oct. 1 b Small ball is their game. Bunt, steal, run, pick it defensively, and please, no mental blunders.
2005 U.S. News & World Rep. 24 Oct. 23/3 ‘His whole presidency since 9/11 has been faced with critical issues,’ says a senior White House official. ‘It's not his instinct to play small ball.’
2010 C. Jaffe Evaluating Baseball's Managers ii. 50 Sacrifice hits, stolen bases, and the hit and run are all classic parts of ‘small ball’—doing the little things to manufacture one run at a time.
† small balls n. Obsolete rare a variety of ironstone.
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the world > the earth > minerals > ore > [noun] > metal ore > iron ore > hard
ironstone1522
mine-stone1612
dogger1670
gubbin1712
iron clay1750
small balls1793
penny-stone1803
mine-stuff1839
silver thread1855
1793 A. Young Gen. View Agric. Sussex 13 A marl sets on, in the different depths of which the iron-stone comes on regularly in all the various sorts as follows: 1. Small balls, provincially twelve foots, because so many feet distant from the first to the last bed.
small-batch adj. designating or relating to a type of small-scale production in which goods are made in limited quantities, often by means of traditional or artisanal methods; (also) designating goods, food, beverages, etc., made in this way.
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1934 Winnipeg Free Press 1 Nov. 8/5 Heinz soups are a special kind, made by your method..completed by small-batch, well watched cooking.
1965 New Scientist 8 July 70/3 These machines are programmed by a system which the company's engineers have developed specifically for small-batch production.
2010 J. Kosmas & D. Zaric Speakeasy 36 Bartenders..gravitated toward newly released single-barrel and small-batch bourbons to meet the expectations of the luxury crowd.
small block n. a compact and lightweight engine block, esp. for a V8 engine; frequently attributive.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > parts of > other parts
thermo-siphon1834
crank-case1878
manifolda1884
hot tube1889
sump1894
hit-and-miss governor1897
engine pit1903
retard1903
head1904
gasket1915
gravity tank1917
cylinder block1923
transfer case1923
swirl chamber1934
manifolding1938
ignition switch1952
catalytic converter1955
small block1963
cat1988
1963 Corpus Christi (Texas) Times 14 May (advt.) Adapter for small block Chev. V8.
1997 GQ Sept. 247/3 Hot rodders have taken some of the Prefects and installed fuel-injected small blocks with matchin' running gear.
2009 A. L. Boyer Buddha on Backstretch v. 75 Daddy raced his Malibu with the small-block engine at Columbia and Greenville-Pickins.
small body n. Printing a body (see body n. 9) of a type or slug of a relatively small size.
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society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > [noun] > height of type > names of type sizes
English1539
great primer1539
long primer1553
pica1553
brevier1598
nonpareil1656
pearl1656
small pica1657
minion1659
canon1683
small body1683
minim1706
paragon1706
bourgeois1755
diamond1778
ruby1778
Trafalgar1807
agate1831
minikinc1870
minionette1871
brilliant1875
gem1888
excelsior1902
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 20 Long-Primmer and downwards are accounted small Bodies.
1889 Amer. Bookmaker Mar. 60/2 The law printer wants a large, wide faced letter; the newspaper man asks for a large face on a small body, and the book printer needs a great variety.
1916 L. A. Legros & J. C. Grant Typogr. Printing-Surfaces ix. 121 A fount of a small body generally has a greater a–z length than a large-body fount of the same series.
2010 G. Ambrose & P. Harris Visual Dict. Typogr. 24 The font below..would be hard to read set as small body copy, but would be perfectly legible in a heading or fairground signage.
small-bore adj. (a) designating or relating to a firearm with a narrow bore (in international and Olympic shooting generally .22 inch calibre or 5.6 millimetre bore); (b) (North American colloquial) trivial; unimportant.
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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
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > by type of bore
rifled1619
screwed1657
full bore1666
wreathed1681
smooth-bore1799
small-bore1833
unrifled1851
poly-grooved1858
smooth-bored1859
polygroove1863
cylinder-bored1881
1833 Field Bk. 7/1 Even the advantage of slight report in the discharge is now comparatively done away with, in consequence of the recent introduction of the small-bore rifles for rook and rabbit shooting.
1898 W. S. Churchill in Morning Post 7 Oct. 5/7 The Dervish gunboat Bordaine..returned from its quest with nearly a hundred men wounded by the small-bore bullets of a civilised force which was in occupation.
1900 Congress. Rec. 14 Feb. 1804/2 No small-bore, two-by-four, radical politicians can hurt that great court.
1976 R.A.F. News 11–24 May 19 (caption) Brawdy's small bore rifle team pictured with..the Nobel Challenge Cup.
2004 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 12 Feb. 12/1 The scandals were about money and sex, and by modern standards they seem decidedly small-bore.
small bourgeois adj. and n. [after French petit bourgeois petit bourgeois n.] = petit bourgeois n. and adj.
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society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > [adjective] > middle-class or bourgeois
moyen1481
middling1631
bourgeois1761
small bourgeois1832
lower middle class1835
middle class1836
bourgeoisistic1848
petty bourgeois1864
upper middle class1872
petit bourgeois1887
lace curtain1928
haut bourgeois1940
bourgie1968
1832 Monthly Repository Theol. & Gen. Lit. July 494 Political knowledge penetrates in the most remote parts of France—there,..every small bourgeois, every peasant, who grows rich, resolves that his son shall be a gentleman, un Monsieur.
1848 Weekly Chron. 2 July 5 If you attempt to disprove this statement, the small bourgeois fly into a passion.
1861 tr. A. de Tocqueville Mem., Lett. & Remains II. 226 The electoral body soon became nothing but a small bourgeois oligarchy, devoted to its special interests, and separated from the lower classes, for whom it did not care, and who cared nothing for it.
1918 Manch. Guardian 13 Dec. 7/4 The Menshevik and the small bourgeois parties have published a declaration.
1930 A. Bennett Imperial Palace lv. 414 Customers of the small bourgeois class.
1974 N. Freeling Dressing of Diamond 134 A very small-bourgeois existence, with a canary.
1989 Independent (Nexis) 21 Jan. Anton Pavlovich..began, with his patients, to accumulate those subtle observations of peasants, small bourgeois and army officers..which fed his art.
1993 Harper's Mag. Jan. 42/2 The Communist parties..had become small-bourgeois capitalist parties.
small bourgeoisie n. [after French petite bourgeoisie petite bourgeoisie n.] = petite bourgeoisie n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > [noun] > middle class or bourgeoisie
burgessy1533
menalty1548
middle class1654
middling class1745
middling1751
bourgeoise1769
bourgeoisie1774
petite bourgeoisie1846
petty bourgeoisie1850
middling interest1857
upper middle class1864
middle-middle-class1886
well-heeled1897
small bourgeoisie1970
1835 Poor Man's Guardian 5 Dec. 760/2 Not only were the rich bourgeoisie hostile to the new regime, but, what was infinitely worse for the work-people, their co-adjutors, the small bourgeoisie, were also averse to it, and determined to overthrow it.
1970 F. C. Weffort in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. xi. 398 They did not feel so much like members of a decadent small bourgeoisie, but rather like operators with a stable position moving toward the better.
2011 Cape Argus (Nexis) 8 Apr. 15 A critical consciousness among the small bourgeoisie can be detected almost everywhere.
small business n. originally U.S. small commercial organizations collectively; the owners or managers of these organizations; cf. big business n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.
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1913 Ogden (Utah) Standard 24 Nov. 1/7 To prevent there being any improper advantage taken by big business at the expense of small business.
1964 Electronics World Jan. 51/1 CB was intended to serve the needs of small business.
2007 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 12 Feb. 4 We want to make sure we've got a fast system, an efficient system, and we will be talking to small business about the full range of its concerns.
small capitals n. Printing capital letters differing little in size from the lower-case letters of the same font.
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society > communication > printing > printed matter > printed character(s) > [noun] > upper case or capital > small capitals
small capitals1727
small caps1814
1727 N. Lardner Credibility Gospel Hist. I. Pref. p. v Short notes for the benefit of the unlearned reader..are referred to by small Capitals.
1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. iv. 53 Small Capitals are mostly used to denote, that a more particular stress and emphasis is intended by the Author.
1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. vi. 133 Head-lines are generally set in small capitals of the same fount, or in Italics.
1996 Mod. Lang. Rev. 91 834 In the translation, I have used small capitals to render the Greek words and phrases that are scattered through the Latin text.
small caps n. = small capitals n. (cf. caps n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printed matter > printed character(s) > [noun] > upper case or capital > small capitals
small capitals1727
small caps1814
1814 Gentleman's Mag. 84 368/2 Leave editio princeps, uncut, unique, rare, With small caps, and italics, friend Leigh to declare.
1856 ‘G. Eliot’ in Westm. Rev. Oct. 454 She informs us, with all the lucidity of italics and small caps, that ‘function, not form,..weakly engrossed her’.
1967 Style Man. (U.S. Govt. Printing Off.) (rev. ed.) iii. 31 In matter set in caps and small caps..capitalize all principal words.
1992 MacUser 21 Feb. 13/4 The font family..comes with small caps and old style figures.
small cattle n. (originally) livestock smaller in size than oxen, such as calves or sheep; (later) bovine animals of a small breed.
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the world > animals > domestic animal > [noun] > livestock > below size of oxen
small cattle1535
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings iv. 23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty small catell, and an hundreth shepe.
1593 Benefits Observ. Fish-daies (single sheet) The number of Beefes aforesaid,..and other small Cattell, as Calues, Sheepe, and Lambes innumerable.
1798 G. Papendick tr. A. von Kotzebue Stranger x. 17 Perhaps the king of Spain has heard of your excellent breed of small cattle.
1856 Trans. N.Y. State Agric. Soc. 1855 15 274 In the Native stock it is I believe commonly conceded that small cattle afford the most delicate and sweetest meat.
1993 Weekly Times (Nexis) 10 Nov. The breed is not without its detractors, with mainstream Angus breeders claiming the small cattle are pushing the industry in the wrong direction.
small-cell adj. Pathology (attributive) composed or consisting of small cells (cf. small-celled adj. at Compounds 1a); spec. designating a tumour, now esp. a carcinoma, composed of cells with prominent nuclei and scanty cytoplasm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > growth or excrescence > [adjective] > tumour > other tumours
sublated1647
polypous1684
polypose1722
extravasate1728
flatulent1730
primary1793
mammary1804
osteosarcomatous1825
polypoid1827
carcinoid1830
homoeomorphous1832
melanoid1839
polypiform1846
tyromatous1848
non-malignant1852
extravasated1853
adenomatous1863
histioid1864
histoid1865
myxomatous1872
small-cell1872
lymphadenomatous1873
polypoidal1873
lymphomatous1876
myomatous1876
lympho-sarcomatous1880
haematomatous1886
fibro-lipomatous1889
teratomatous1891
mixed1892
fibro-adenomatous1894
psammomatous1897
tunnelled1898
mycosic1899
radioresistant1922
melanomatous1943
sarcoid-like1943
paragangliomatous1965
oncofetal1972
1872 Lancet 19 Oct. 573/1 He [sc. Dr. J. Collins Warren] considers rodent ulcer to be the most typical form of the small cell variety, or flat or superficial cancer.
1899 Trans. Pathol. Soc. 50 148 There is, however, no small-cell growth or evidence of recent hyperplasia in the fibrous tissue [of the liver].
1929 H. M. Clute & L. W. Smith in Arch. Surg. 18 11 We have designated it as the small cell carcinoma. This is the type of tumor which is sometimes called lymphosarcoma, as it is made up of small round cells, poorly differentiated..with a prominent nucleus and an almost negligible amount of cytoplasm.
1976 Pathol. Ann. 11 319 In the differential diagnosis of acute leukemia the following should be considered: small cell epithelial tumors (eg, oat cell carcinoma, carcinoid, islet cell tumor), neuroblastoma, [etc.].
2007 Daily Tel. 11 May 16/6 For mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, and small-cell lung cancer.
small chisel n. a fine chisel used for engraving; a burin.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > [noun] > engraving tools
pouncer1552
graving tool1591
pounce1598
puncheon1659
burin1662
eschoppe1662
graver1662
needle1662
point1662
style1662
sculpter1680
scalper1688
small chisel1749
roulette1806
engraver1821
dry-point1837
scooper1837
stylet1853
tint-tool1869
diamond-point1874
spit-sticker1909
bull-sticker1933
1749 tr. N. A. Pluche Spectacle de la Nature (ed. 2) VII. xxii. 220 Then he arms his Workmen with Picks and Puncheons, with Scrapers of all Sorts, with great and small Chisels, and with round, flat, and sharp Gravers.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2219/2 Small-chisel, a burin or graver used by engravers.
1995 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 8 June c1 Hopewell..has been engraving for 25 years and prefers old guns. ‘You always know what you're going to get. The steel works well,’ he said, referring to how it curls away under his small chisel and hammer.
small chop n.
Brit. /ˈsmɔːl tʃɒp/
,
U.S. /ˈsmɔl ˌtʃɑp/
,
/ˈsmɑl ˌtʃɑp/
,
West African English /ˈsmɔl ˌtʃɔp/
[ < small adj. + chop n.6] West African (as mass noun and in plural) small items of food.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > [noun] > small items
small chop1963
1963 M. Laurence Tomorrow-tamer 236 I use the shallow ones to put groundnuts in..for small-chop with drinks.
1971 J. Spencer Eng. Lang. W. Afr. 11 Pidgin words, known and used by almost everyone,..who has lived in the coastal areas of West Africa..chop n and v, ‘food’ and ‘eat’, and its recent extensions in phrases such as small chop, ‘cocktail eats’, chop box,..etc.
2011 Leadership (Abuja) (Nexis) 12 Feb. The organizers have lined up a 14-course dinner treat to be accompanied by exotic drinks and small chops.
small circle n. Geometry any circle on the surface of a sphere whose plane does not pass through the centre of the sphere; cf. great circle n. at circle n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > closed curve > circle > on a sphere > not passing through centre
epicyclec1392
small circle1528
1528 tr. Kalender of Shepeherdes xxxiv. sig. P.vi The fyrst small cyrcle is called the cyrcle artyke bycause of the pole zodyake aboute ye pole artyke.
1657 J. Newton Astronomia Britannica i. 1 A great circle is such a one as divideth the body of the Globe into two equal Hemispheres. And a small circle is that which divideth the same, into two unequal Hemispheres.
1754 J. Robertson Elements Navigation I. iv. i. 118 The diameter of every great circle passes thro' the centre of the sphere; but the diameters of all small circles do not pass thro' the same centre.
1886 Nature 8 Apr. 535/2 A luminous ring passing through the sun encircled the sky, everywhere of the same altitude above the horizon, forming a small circle of the sphere taking the zenith as pole.
2011 J. F. Petersen et al. Physical Geogr. (ed. 10) ii. 28 Any circle on Earth's surface that does not divide the planet into equal halves is called a small circle.
small clause n. Grammar a structure which resembles a clause in that it has words or phrases that are interpretable semantically as a subject plus predicate, but which contains neither a finite verb nor a to-infinitive. For example, him groan in I heard him groan and it excellent in I found it excellent.
ΚΠ
1975 E. S. Williams in Syntax & Semantics 4 249 (heading) Small clauses in English.
1994 Appl. Linguistics 15 246 Quantitative examinations of the occurrences of hypotaxis versus parataxis in English discourse..have established that native speakers of English typically use a comparatively high rate of relative clauses and small clauses.
2008 Linguistics & Philos. 31 576 Nomination verbs can hardly be set apart from the verb make, which clearly takes a small clause.
small coin n. coins of low value collectively; also figurative. Cf. small change n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > [noun] > small coins collectively
single money1591
small coin1606
change1633
small change1679
grocery1721
smash1821
loose change1827
shrapnel1974
1606 R. Knolles tr. J. Bodin Six Bks. Common-weale vi. vi. 775 Neratius..commaunded a slaue, which carried a bagge full of such small coyne after him, to pay vnto him whome hee had so strucken twentie fiue of those small brasen peeces.
1650 True manner Crowning Charles Second King Scotl. (single sheet) He did..scatter many handfuls of silver in smal coyne.
1746 T. Salmon Mod. Gazetteer at Maldiva Islands Cowries..serve instead of small coin, in many parts of India.
1879 G. Meredith Egoist xxxiii If we are not to be beloved, spare us the small coin of compliment on character.
1900 T. Wilkins & B. S. Wilkins Moral Culture as Sci. ii. iv. 102 Kindness is the small coin of life, making pleasant and convenient all the little interchanges of service which are necessary between man and man.
1982 P. Manning Slavery, Colonialism, & Econ. Growth in Dahomey vi. 161 To obtain additional supplies of small coin.
† small-colleger n. Obsolete a member of a small college.
ΚΠ
1822 New Monthly Mag. 4 415 If I am to meet a Cambridge man, my hope is that he may be a small colleger.
1852 C. A. Bristed Five Years Eng. University (ed. 2) 127 The idea of a Small-Colleger beating all Trinity was deemed preposterous.
small-endian n. and adj. = little-endian n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > creation or description of characters > specific character or creature
big-endian1726
Sleeping Beauty1729
little-endian1749
small-endian1819
panjandrum1825
shock-headed Peter1848
flopsy bunny1909
Pollyanna1921
Tarzan1921
hobbit1937
orc1937
superman1938
Moomin1950
Dalek1963
1819 W. M. Mason Hist. & Antiq. Church of St. Patrick ii. v. 357 By the ceremony of leaping over the coloured strings, the revival of the orders of the Garter, Bath, and Thistle is alluded to: the high-heels and low-heels express the political parties of tories and whigs, the small-endians and big-endians, the religious sects of papist and protestant.
1841 T. Roscoe in J. Swift Wks. I. 12/1 Papists and protestants are the big-endians and small-endians.
1961 Y. Olsson On Syntax Eng. Verb ii. 18 Though what Jonathan Swift might have called the Small-Endian view seems to be in a certain vogue, the procedure here followed is Big-Endian.
2005 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 17 Apr. (Book Reviews) 1 The war between the outlaws and the canonicals [sc. of American literature] was another dispute between Big-Endians and Small-Endians.
smallest room n. colloquial the lavatory of a particular building (cf. small room n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > water-closet or lavatory
closet1496
water closet1736
water closet1747
throne room1787
W.C.1815
netty1825
convenience1841
Johnny1847
lavabo1852
restrooma1856
small room1858
cloakroom1865
lavatory1874
bathroom1883
toilet1886
can1900
place1902
lav1913
washroom1919
head1920
lavvy1922
dike1923
smallest room1930
John1931
khazi1932
loo1940
biffy1942
Wa1953
shitcan1954
commode1958
cludgie1961
1930 A. Lyall It isn't Done 59 It is all very baffling for the uninitiated foreigner..who when his host offers to ‘show him the geography of the house’ finds that his tour begins and ends with the smallest..room.
1933 P. Godfrey Back-stage xvi. 202 The smallest room in the house invariably has prohibitory notices of a stern and intimate character.
1973 ‘H. Carmichael’ Candles for Dead xii. 150 At a guess, I'd say he's probably in the smallest room.
2010 Viz May 45/2 To embark on a visit to the smallest room in order to do a number two.
† small figures n. Obsolete Arabic numerals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical notation or symbol > [noun] > figure
rimeeOE
figure?c1225
numberc1300
digit?a1400
digitalc1450
cipher1530
term1552
terminus?a1560
significant figure1614
small figuresa1652
numeral1654
monasa1690
binary digit1796
nomial1828
supplement1868
a1652 S. Foster Elliptical Horologiography (1654) 48 Besides the houres you may set on 10, 20, 30, &c. in small figures.
1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 110 He makes small Figures to be as old as a.d. 1050.
small fish n. colloquial a person or thing of relatively small importance or significance; esp. in small 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 large group or more populous environment; 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
1836 Farmers' Reg. Jan. 540/1 Do, for the sake of us small fish in the forest, insist on your correspondents in future..to sign their proper names to their communications.
1904 Boston Daily Globe 25 Dec. 6/2 Most women would rather be a small fish in a big pond than a big fish in a small pond.
1973 R. S. Morrison Handbk. for Manufacturing Entrepreneurs lxiv. 484 Acme Products Company is a small fish in the acquisitions pond.
1996 Raygun Nov. 62/2 It seemed that (Reed) got to be a small fish in a big pond and immediately went berserk.
2011 Sunday Tel. (Austral.) (Nexis) 14 Aug. 74 Despite enjoying the peak racing season, Bowman confirmed there is no place like home. ‘I was a small fish over there and I'm a big fish here,’ he said.
small folk n. = small people n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > collectively
fairya1375
good neighboura1585
faerie1612
good peoplea1692
small people1696
little people1719
Sidhe1724
gentrya1731
little mena1731
small folk1785
little folk1791
gentlefolk1795
the wee folk1819
good folk1820
Pharisee1823
gentle-people1832
fairyhood1844
folk of peace1875
1785 Crit. Rev. Apr. 262 In Cornwall, the smale volk (small folks) are supposed to be no unfrequent attendants on these subterraneous labourers.
1865 R. Hunt Pop. Romances W. Eng. (1896) 118 The gardens of the Small People, or, as they are called by the natives, Small Folk.
1923 J. C. Tregarthen John Penrose (2004) iii. 22 I trod lightly so as to break no bones, and had nearly reached the spot where I felt sure the Small Folk were hiding when up jumped, not a fairy, but a great red fox.
2000 Virginian-Pilot (Nexis) 1 May e4 Fairies, trolls & goblins galore... Anyone fascinated by small folk will be enchanted by this book.
small-for-dates adj. (of a newborn infant or a fetus) having a weight or other measurements less than expected at the presumed gestational age; exhibiting retarded intrauterine growth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disorders of pregnancy or birth > [adjective] > small-for-dates
small-for-dates1961
1961 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 6 May 1313/2 Complications of pregnancy predominated in pulmonary haemorrhage cases, toxaemia in 65%..and ‘small for dates’—a birth-weight of at least 1,000 grammes less than the average for gestation—in 55%.
1978 Nature 30 Mar. 404/1 Some babies are born small not because they are premature but because their growth has been retarded in the uterus. These so-called small-for-dates babies..are at greater than normal risk at birth.
2003 K. Bowman & L. Ryan Twins 50 If one or both of your babies are small-for-dates, you may be put on bed rest, be given a high calorie diet and the babies, their placentas and amniotic sacs will probably be monitored very closely.
small forward n. Basketball a forward, typically smaller and quicker than the other forwards, characterized by versatility and scoring ability; (also) this position on the court.
ΚΠ
1966 Xenia (Ohio) Daily Gaz. 1 Dec. 6/5 Doug Meeks..may be the best small forward in the Dayton area.
1990 Inside Sports Dec. 44/3 It remains to be seen how Malone's absence affects his former teammates, particularly small forward Bernard King.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 May viii. 5/3 The Spurs are as stifling as always with the two shot-blockers in Duncan and Nesterovic and the lock-down artist, Bowen, at small forward.
small fruit n. North American (as a mass noun or in plural) (the edible fruit of) any kind of low-growing perennial, fruit-bearing plant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > plant that bears fruit > [noun] > top-fruit or bottom-fruit
soft fruit1695
small fruit1718
top-fruit1884
1718 Mrs. Mary Eales's Receipts 13 To Preserve Red Currants... Put in half a Pound of ston'd Currants; boil 'em as fast as you can... Stir all small Fruit as they cool, to mix it with the Jelly.
1777 J. Tytler Salmon's New Universal Geogr. Gram. 257 In Summer, the fields are verdant, and covered with flowers, and produce strawberries, rasberries, currants, and other small fruits.
1822 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening iii. i. 537 This operation [sc. gathering] in the case of small fruits, as the gooseberry, strawberry, &c. is generally performed by the under gardeners.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 528/2 Acreages of Orchards and Small Fruit Plantations.
1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 11 July 12/3 Small fruit continue to show prominence, but some varieties are becoming scarce.
1950 Sci. Monthly Apr. 212 The story of the evolution of the groups from which our small fruits have been derived is shrouded in the mists of the geological past.
1994 Org. Gardening Feb. 79/1 Topdress strawberries, blueberries and other small fruits with manure or cottonseed meal.
small game n. small animals hunted as game; in later use frequently attributive; cf. big game n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.In early use occasionally as a count noun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > thing hunted or game > [noun]
preya1250
gamec1330
chase1393
waitha1400
purchasea1450
small gamec1474
quarryc1500
gibier1514
meat1529
hunt-beast1535
hunt1588
course1607
felon1735
ground-game1872
c1474 in J. B. Sheppard Christ Church Lett. (1877) 26 William your Parker abidith still, but I have sett a counteroller uppon him..and I dowte not ther shall nether great game nor small game be taken away without I shall have knowliche of the same.
1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. ii. xv. f. 89/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I How many families also these great and small games (for so most keepers call them) haue eaten vp.
1790 E. Helme tr. F. Le Vaillant Trav. Afr. I. 202 The woods furnish small game in abundance: buffaloes, and sometimes elephants, are also found in them.
1859 W. Burrows Adventures Mounted Trooper 97 They can throw this spear a distance of eighty or a hundred yards with surprising accuracy. It is used for killing small game.
1974 J. C. Ewers in J. Billard World of Amer. Indian 268 (caption) Severe winters thwarted even small-game hunting.
2012 Pittsburgh Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 26 Aug. d13 My dad was a small game hunter, and he always wore their tail feathers in his hunting cap.
small government n. Politics (chiefly North American) an approach to government which seeks to minimize the role of the State, esp. in providing services and regulating the private sector; government based on these principles; cf. big government n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1946 J. E. McLean William Rufus Day in Johns Hopkins Univ. Stud. Hist. & Polit. Sci. 64 60 Essentially a product of small government and small business, Day might be expected to view with distrust extreme concentrations of political or economic power.
1983 Age (Melbourne) 5 Oct. 13 In contrast to the expansionist, protectionist and welfare-oriented Wets, the Dries stand for small government, economic rationality and individual responsibility.
2005 Wall St. Jrnl. 17 Sept. (Central ed.) a6/1 In his bid to repair the Gulf Coast and his own standing, President Bush has set out to blend liberal-sounding, big-government ambitions with conservative-sounding, small-government solutions.
† small-gut man n. Obsolete rare a fencer who can pierce the small guts.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > [noun] > fencer > types of
heartista1640
small-gut mana1640
time-catcher1707
lunger1842
foilist1907
épéist1910
sabreur1927
sabre-fencer1952
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Loves Pilgrimage iv. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Cccccccc2v/1 Is there Ever a good heartist, or a member percer, or a Small-gut man left.
small helm n. Nautical minimal use of the rudder.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > ability to answer helm > well-balanced
small helma1803
a1803 D. Tappan Serm. Important Subj. (1807) viii. 88 He compares the mighty and extensive influence of this little member to that of bits in the mouth of the horse, of the small helm, which commands the greatest ships, and of a little fire spreading into a devouring flame.
1825 W. N. Glascock Naval Sketch-bk. (1826) I. 148 Small helm bo—steady—ey-a.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 634 Small-Helm. One of the principal results of sound seamanship is the proper trim of the vessel and the sail carried; by which means the action of the rudder is reduced to a minimum.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 604 Small helm, when the sails are well balanced and the rudder but little used.
1903 Outing Aug. 537/2 Some of the modern boats revolve with such lightning-like rapidity that if you are not careful to give them small helm when going about they will describe a complete circle.
2008 S. Willis Fighting at Sea in 18th Cent. ii. 30 A well-balanced ship could be brought to wind with only small helm, allowing for more control and maximum speed, which in turn made for efficient and effective manœuvre.
small help n. rare children employed to work in factories, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > work of children
small help1903
1903 Daily Chron. 5 Jan. 6/7 One official of a mill-owning company..admits that ‘small help’—anglice ‘child labour’—is a great mistake.
2009 J. L. Flannery Glass House Boys Pittsburgh 138 Health and safety issues relating to the small help.
small hours the early hours after midnight denoted by the small numbers, one, two, etc.; cf. the wee (small) hours at wee adj. f.
ΚΠ
1718 A. Ramsay Elegies on Maggy Johnston, John Cowper & Lucky Wood (ed. 2) 18 To the sma Hours we aft sat still.
1721 A. Ramsay Poems I. 31 (note) The Nether-bow Porter, to whom Lucky's Customers were often obliged for opening the Port for them,when they staid out 'till the small Hours after Midnight.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 121 He invited friends home, who used to come at ten o'clock, and begin to get happy about the small hours.
1865 W. G. Palgrave Narr. Journey through Arabia II. 335 Conversation is prolonged to midnight or even to the small hours.
1953 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 4 May in Yours, Plum (1990) viii. 181 We leave the french windows..open at night, and some time during the small hours Bill trots out.
2005 C. Alliott Not that Kind of Girl xviii. 269 Having to escort yet another loved-up inebriate home in the small hours, and departed.
small meat n. now rare (as a mass noun or in plural) meat other than beef or poultry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > [noun] > meat > other types of meat
gross meatc1460
fish1607
crimp-meat1656
small meata1662
second hand1694
slink1736
soup-meat1841
box meat1856
sacrifice meat1926
MRM1980
a1662 P. Heylyn Aerius Redivivus (1670) 119 They..hanged up their mangled Limbs or Quarters, as Butchers do their small Meats in a common Shambles.
1742 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 3) I. 24 [Ipswich] has five Market-days weekly; Tuesday and Thursday for small Meat; Wednesday and Friday for Fish.
1761 London & Environs Described III. 300 In both these are principally sold small meat, as mutton, veal, lamb, and pork, and some of the shops sell beef.
1821 New Monthly Mag. 3 134/2 Beef maintains a steady price, and is likely to be higher as the season advances; but small meats (pork and mutton at least) have not even borne a proportionate value with other provision.
1877 Scribner's Monthly Oct. 729/1 About one hundred and eighty are butchers, wholesale, retail and ‘shirk’, or small-meat men; forty-two are dealers in poultry and game.
1908 National Provisioner 9 May 20/1 Sausage making is a good way to dispose of small meats, however, when the fresh meat market is choked.
1985 M. S. Mosko Quadripartite Struct. v. 76 Only minimal quantities of ‘small’ meats—smaller fish and birds, mostly—..are deemed appropriate to the bride's diet. The bride's minimal consumption of small meat here hardly balances with her exaggerated engorging of cooked plant food.
small morals n. minor social conventions; the proprieties of everyday life; cf. petite morale n. rare (chiefly with reference to Hobbes's use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > prescribed rule of conduct > rules of behaviour in small matters
small morals1651
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. xi. 47 By Manners, I mean not here, Decency of behaviour; as how one man should salute another, or how a man should wash his mouth, or pick his teeth before company, and such other points of the Small Moralls.
1783 J. Price Saddle put on Right Horse 66 A people so famed for the practice of the great and small morals.
1806 Universal Mag. Nov. 386/1 Addison, the best instructor of the small morals that ever lived.
1905 Rep. Comm. Council Educ. Scotl. App. Part I. 443 As regards the ‘small morals’..one seems to trace in school the foundations of that formal politeness, so characteristic of the German nation.
2001 D. Bromwich in Southwest Rev. 86 246 One has to understand moral in close relation to mores, and in relation to manners or ‘small morals’.
small person n. a child, a baby.
ΚΠ
1839 W. M. Thackeray in Fraser's Mag. June 697/1 A small person who acted as scourer, kitchen-wench, and scullion.
1906 Photogr. Times July 311/1 A child, unlike a grown-up, cannot act appearing unconscious... The only thing possible..is to ask the small person to ‘keep like that for a moment’.
2005 Independent 18 June (Mag.) 46/3 Looking after a small person is so time-and-energy-consuming that I can't even contemplate swilling out pooey nappies on top of the rest of the chores.
small pica n. Typography a size of type of about 11 points, between long primer and pica.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > [noun] > height of type > names of type sizes
English1539
great primer1539
long primer1553
pica1553
brevier1598
nonpareil1656
pearl1656
small pica1657
minion1659
canon1683
small body1683
minim1706
paragon1706
bourgeois1755
diamond1778
ruby1778
Trafalgar1807
agate1831
minikinc1870
minionette1871
brilliant1875
gem1888
excelsior1902
1657 W. Prynne Exact Abridgem. Rec. Tower of London Pref. to Rdr. sig. A2v Abridgements comprise in..one sheet in a small Pica letter, the substance of many sheets set in Capitals.
1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Pica Letter, a term among Printers being the Sixth Character in order of magnitude from Pareil, Small Pica being a degree less, and Double Pica a third degree beyond it.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 227 Among the Irregular Bodied sorts of Letter, none has taken so great a run as Small Pica.
1839 C. H. Timperley Dict. Printers 105 All above 52 Pica ems, upon Small Pica and upwards.
1919 Classical Jrnl. 15 38 When learning the printer's trade, while a college student, I set up in small pica my translation of the daily allotment of the ‘Prometheus Bound’ of Aeschylus.
2003 M. Belson On the Press (Gloss.), 350 Small Pica: a type-size used before the point system (c. 10½ pt).
small-pipes n. (usually with plural agreement) a set of bellows-filled bagpipes, esp. of a kind indigenous to Northumberland; also in singular in same sense.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > bagpipe
bagc1275
stivec1290
cornemusec1384
musettea1393
bagpipec1405
pair1422
pipec1450
muse1484
drone1502
lilt-pipea1525
great pipe1592
miskin1593
Highland pipe1599
small-pipes1656
piffero1724
Highland bagpipe1728
zampogna1740
union pipes1788
Lowland pipes1794
pibroch1807
piob mhor1838
gaita1846
sack pipe1889
set1893
biniou1902
uillean pipes1906
1656 P. K. Surfeit to A B C 77 Such as play a Geneva gigg upon the Scotch small-pipes without a Muzzle.
1855 in J. Wright Eng. Dial. Dict. (1904) V. 548/1 The torch was lit on point of spear—And small pipes they did sound.
1928 Daily Express 2 Mar. 2/6 The Northumberland small pipes..have furnished music at fairs in Northumberland for more than three hundred years.
1967 A. L. Lloyd Folk Song in Eng. vi. 333 The silvery-toned Northumbrian small-pipes struggling to be heard above the full shrill singing.
1975 S. Marcuse Musical Instruments (rev. ed.) 482/1 The mid-18th c., when the characteristic feature of the small-pipe was developed: its chanter was stopped.
2000 JazzTimes Mar. 75/3 It's a joyful noise that spills out of the smallpipes.
small press n. an independent, relatively small publisher.
ΚΠ
1933 New Outlook July 55/1 It is Vardis Fisher's third novel, and was first published by a small press in Idaho, gaining a sort of subterranean reputation.
1988 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Dec. 1403/2 How much do the editors really know about what happens outside the London small-press scene?
2011 G. Wells House in France 146 They might even start a small press and publish their new friends' work on handwoven paper.
small rice n. chiefly U.S. regional (now historical) rice composed of broken grains, and hence considered low-grade; cf. sense B. 9a(c).
ΚΠ
1743 London Gaz. 18 Oct. 1/1 For the support of such poor Protestants and their Families for one Year, three hundred weight of beef.., two hundred weight of small rice, and one bushel salt.
1786 E. Rutledge Let. 14 Oct. in T. Jefferson Papers (1954) X. 465 It is then winnowed..to separate the Flour and broken, or what we call the Small Rice, from the whole, which is packed in Barrels, and exported.
1819 Monthly Mag. Nov. 343/2 The most elevated and finest part of the screen lets out the dust, or what is generally called the flour; the next the broken or small rice, and the third or last division the shelled whole rice.
1957 J. R. Alden South in Revol., 1763–89 ii. 21 In these processes much of the rice was broken. By sieves the ‘small rice’ was separated for the use of the Negroes and animals.
1992 K. Hess Carolina Rice Kitchen (1998) i. 19 This brittleness caused considerable loss, because the broken grades, or ‘small’ rice, had to be sold at lower prices.
small room n. colloquial rare a lavatory (cf. smallest room n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > water-closet or lavatory
closet1496
water closet1736
water closet1747
throne room1787
W.C.1815
netty1825
convenience1841
Johnny1847
lavabo1852
restrooma1856
small room1858
cloakroom1865
lavatory1874
bathroom1883
toilet1886
can1900
place1902
lav1913
washroom1919
head1920
lavvy1922
dike1923
smallest room1930
John1931
khazi1932
loo1940
biffy1942
Wa1953
shitcan1954
commode1958
cludgie1961
1858 Queen Victoria Let. 7 Feb. in Dearest Child (1964) 35 Has the railway carriage got a small room to it?
1979 D. Sanders Queen sends for Mrs. Chadwick 134 Where..was the nearest small room to the Queen's drawing-room, where the President would be received?
1982 P. Mann Eye of Queen 183 Whereas we strain in the small room, they immerse themselves in a ‘resting’ bath, which draws their waste from them.
small round n. Nautical (now historical) the end of an anchor nearest to the stock.
ΚΠ
1815 W. Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine (rev. ed.) 10/2 The extremity to which the stock is fixed, is of a square form, of the same size as the trend, and haunches into the small round, one sixth the length of the shank.
1863 A. Young Naut. Dict. (ed. 2) 358 Small round, that end of the shank of an anchor which is next the stock.
1984 C. G. Davis Amer. Sailing Ships 118 The chamfered edges of the stock end in a square. This place is called the small round of the stock.
small sail n. (also small sails) Nautical (now historical) (a) minimal spread of sails; (also) an instance of this; (b) any of the subsidiary sails of a sailing ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > very highest sails
small sail1669
kite1856
1578 G. Best True Disc. Passage to Cathaya ii. 37 Bearing a small saile all nighte, wee made many soundings.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 16 Take in your Main and Main-top-sail, Steering-sails [etc.]... Thus you have all the small Sails in.
1802 in Naval Documents U. S. Wars Barbary Powers (U.S. Office Naval Rec.) (1940) II. 144 Made and took in small sails occasionaly.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 634 Small-Sails, topgallant-studding-sails and the kites.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 604 Small sail, and snug sail, low and reduced, ready for bad weather.
1960 Mariner's Mirror 56 218 Some vessels used to ‘shram’ their sterns down on the sea in bad weather when hove to with resultant damage and leaks in the sternlockers. Heaving to was therefore avoided and such craft were 'headreached' under very small sail.
1992 S. Holloway Courage High! viii. 70/2 ‘Duck’ was a form of coarse cotton, often used on small sails.
small salad n. now historical = small salading n.
ΚΠ
1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner i. ii. xxiii. 55 All the Novelties of the Spring, viz. Cowcumbers, Radishes, small Sallads, and Melons.
1726 B. Townsend Compl. Seedsman 14 Rape or Turnep is another Seed to be sown for small Sallads.
1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist iii. v. 682 In general, all rapid-growing salad plants are fit for being used as small salads.
1973 C. A. Wilson Food & Drink in Brit. ix. 360 The many small-leaved plants were often known jointly as salading or small salad.
small salading n. now rare plants whose leaves, when young, are used in salad; also in plural.
ΚΠ
1710 P. Lamb Royal Cookery 119 You may garnish this Sallad with some Grapes..or you may put under it, instead of Lettice, a little small Sallading.
1822 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening iii. i. 662 Small salading, such as cresses, mustard, rape, chiccory, &c. to be cropped, when young, may be treated as pot-herbs.
1851 Birmingham & Midlands Gardeners' Mag. May 69 Continue to make sowings..of Peas, Beans, Turnips,..every fortnight, with small salading every week.
1884 Public Opinion 5 Sept. 301/1 The small saladings which make an intermittent appearance at the table.
1910 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 779/2 Sow small salading and radishes in the first week.
1932 Irish Times 24 May 2/6 (heading) Small salading. Writing on this subject in the Weekly Irish Times, the Garden Correspondent says [etc.].
smallsat n. Astronautics an exceptionally small, lightweight space satellite; cf. microsatellite n. 2.
ΚΠ
1988 Aviation Week & Space Technol. 19 Sept. 34/3 Air Force Secretary Edward C. Aldridge, Jr., softened his opposition to a Defense Research Projects Agency program to build small, inexpensive satellites last week, saying he would support a Smallsat technology program.
2000 A. Ellery Introd. Space Robotics v. 116 Smallsats are most suited to specialised activities such as mobile communications.
2008 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 9 Mar. a6 So far, the U.S. military has set aside at least $300 million for smallsat research, but in the future the market could run into the billions.
small saver n. a person with a relatively small amount of savings; in later use frequently in small saver certificate (U.S.): a certificate of deposit with no minimum deposit requirement.
ΚΠ
1895 Manch. Guardian 20 May 8 The money of the small saver is invested in Government stock, and much of the old investments no doubt stand in the books of the banks at a handsome profit.
1981 Washington Post 18 Oct. f2 (advt.) A 30-month Small Saver Certificate with a guaranteed rate pegged to current Treasury Bill rates.
1994 P. Ormerod Death of Econ. (1995) iv. 69 Small savers deposited their money in the local S and L, which in turn lent the money to people to buy houses.
2006 Credit Union Jrnl. (Nexis) 3 Apr. 1 Special programs his credit union has created to target low- and moderate-income residents of those communities, including debt counseling, no minimum balance accounts, small saver certificates, [etc.].
small science n. scientific research on a small scale, as regards targets, resources, personnel, etc.
ΚΠ
1962 Rev. Space Res. (Nat. Acad. Sci. Publ. 1079) xvi. 21 What are the key issues between small science and Big Science?
1990 Paris (Texas) News 15 Feb. 4 a/2 The findings of small science openly published can enlighten big science.
2010 C. N. R. Rao Climbing Limitless Ladder vii. 167 Atomic energy and space get mentioned all the time... Accomplishments in small science benefit mankind much more.
small seed n. chiefly New Zealand (in plural) the seeds of any of various grasses or other plants used for pasture or as forage; these grasses or other plants themselves; (in early use) spec. the seed or grain of a cereal crop.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > wild and cultivated plants > [noun] > cultivated or planted > grown for its foliage or seed
small seed1793
foliage plant1862
seed-plant1878
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fodder plants > [noun] > grasses used for hay or pasture > rye-grass
windlestrawc1000
eavera1425
wall barley1548
red darnel1578
ray-grass1677
ryegrass1690
ray1805
small seed1950
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fodder plants > [noun] > grasses used for hay or pasture > cock's foot
cocksfoot1597
orchard grass1764
fox's foot1853
small seed1950
1793 J. Hollingsworth Let. 3 Apr. in T. Jefferson Papers (1992) XXV. 484 Mr. Boulding..Understands farming Wheat and Coarn well and tolarably well Aqueunted with Small Seeds of all Sorts.
1840 W. Deans Let. 30 Oct. in J. Deans Pioneers Canterbury (1939) 29 I..have got in about two acres of potatoes and..numerous small seeds.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Apr. 359/1 Small seeds [grown in a Canterbury district] include perennial and Italian rye-grass, cocksfoot, crested dogstail, and clover.
2006 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 9 Aug. 11 Producers of small seeds were heavily reliant on bees for pollination.
small slam n. Cards the fact or action of taking every trick but one (cf. slam n.2 2b).
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
1887 Good Housek. 22 Jan. 131/1 Small slam—where all the tricks but one are taken, counts six.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 8 Sept. 16/3 Enormous cards are held and we have a lay-down great or small slam.
2004 Bridge Mag. Mar. 22/2 Ghestem showed one ace and Bacherich bid the small slam in his jack-high suit.
small stuff n. items or materials that are the least in size, importance, or value of their class; spec.: †(a) small branches, twigs, and foliage (obsolete); (b) (Nautical) yarn and thin rope, esp. as used to bind larger ropes; †(c) (in the catering business) cutlery (obsolete).to sweat the small stuff: see sweat v. Additions.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > other manufactured or derived materials > [noun] > rope or cord > small
windling1295
small stuff1867
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > rope collective or as material > specific types of rope
ratline1358
marline1417
sinnet1611
caburn1626
knittle1627
housing1642
lashing1669
houseline1712
fox1769
sennit1769
hamber-line1793
seizing1804
grass line1828
stropping1850
lanyard1862
small stuff1867
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxvii. 505 But when the Dreame representeth vs the stone heawen without hand, which stryketh the Images yron feete and breaketh them apeeces: it is as much as if it had told vs, that the Kingdom of the Messias shall seeme to be of small stuffe, without stay and without force of man.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. lxxxiv. 132/1 The small stuffe that serue for no Pearles, they call Alioffar, and are sold by the ounce, and vsed by Potticaries and Phisitions.
1609 in Trans. Inst. Mining Engineers 1900–1 20 551 Oare, Groves, Lead, Brocks, Staggs, Small Stuffe, or any Mineral Causes.
1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) ii. sig. C5v No great and small stuff hudled together in the Foundation.
1750 S. Warner Hammond's Pract. Surveyor (ed. 3) vi. 61 Such an instrument is often wanted to cut away the small stuff in a hedge, in order to open a proper view to the station-staff.
1813 T. Rudge Gen. View Agric. Glouc. 246 In some coppices, the small stuff, called drift-wood, is sold..as high as 5s. the square perch.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 634 Small Stuff, the term for spun-yarn, marline, and the smallest kinds of rope, even for yarns.
1897 Daily News 18 June 5/2 The scarcity of spoons, forks, and knives,..called ‘small stuff’ in the catering business.
1954 J. J. Quill Bradford's Gloss. Sea Terms (new ed.) 146/2 To point a rope is to taper off the strands and cover with an elaborate protection of innumerable half hitches made of small stuff.
2001 Smithsonian May 76/2 The small stuff consisted of everything from potato peelers to Post-its.
small ticket n. (a) U.S. Navy slang a bad conduct discharge or a dishonourable discharge (now rare); (b) colloquial (originally U.S.) used attributively of merchandise that is inexpensively priced or whose purchase would not constitute a major expense; esp. as small-ticket item; cf. big ticket n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1909 Our Navy (U.S.) Dec. 12/2 Have you not heard men openly boasting that they were working for..‘a small ticket, quick’?.. Discharged for bad conduct.
1918 Suppl. U.S. Naval Med. Bull. Jan. 16 Will you get into the backwaters that lead to undesirable discharge, to B.C.D., to a ‘small ticket’ at the end of your cruise?
1956 Wall St. Jrnl. 31 Dec. 1/6 Small-ticket items (toasters, small radios, mixers) probably showed a more substantial sales gain during Christmas.
1969 Institutional Investor Sept. 86/2 Furniture is a small ticket item compared to housing and automobiles.
1987 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 3 May 1 i The prices of selected small-ticket goods have gone up considerably.
2009 Financial Times 23 Apr. 10 While small-ticket items such as food and clothing are rising, car sales are down 30 per cent from 2008 levels.
small tithe n. now historical any of the tithes not included among the great tithes (see great adj., n., adv., and int. Compounds 1e), comprising personal tithes, mixed tithes, and some predial tithes, and typically due to the vicar of a parish.
ΚΠ
c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 58 (MED) Þe saide Abbot and Couent of Oseney haue igrauntid to þe saide prior..all small tithis and tithis of heye of putmede.
1589 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 51 For the smale or pryve tythes of Hetton iijl ijs vjd ob.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. xi. 31 Kings..appointed the times of payment, viz. the small Tithes at Whitsunside, and the great Tithes at Alhollantide.
1718 in Shropshire Parish Documents (1903) 19 The Vicar hath also all small Tythes as Hemp, Flax, Geese, Eggs, Piggs, Fruit and the Like.
1838 G. Burges Comm. on Act for Commutation of Tithes 17 To fix one sum for the great and another for the small tithe.
2011 C. Cordle Out of Hay & into Hops vi. 127 The vicar was assigned the remaining small tithes, but arrangements varied from parish to parish.
small years chiefly U.S. now rare the years of early childhood.
ΚΠ
1860 Harper's New Monthly Mag. Oct. 715/1 Not long since, on paying a visit to the home of my small years,..I heard hints thrown out [etc.].
1930 F. Kendon (title) The small years.
1961 N. Monsarrat White Rajah v. 36 His father's library..had been terra incognita during the small years.
small-yield adj. = low-yield adj. at low adj. and n.2 Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > [adjective] > nuclear > qualities of
clean1956
low-yield1957
strategic1957
tactical1957
small-yield1959
theatre1977
INF1981
1905 C. F. Stone in Rep. Kansas State Board of Agric. Mar. 156 It has been repeated over and over that the milk-producer cannot afford one kind of cow, and that one the small-yield cow.
1959 N.Y. Times 19 Mar. 16/1 The three Project Argus detonations involved relatively small yield nuclear devices.
1963 Listener 7 Feb. 251/2 The introduction of compact, mobile ‘small yield’ weapons into service with American forces in Europe.
2000 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Feb. 45/1 The Fields family built it into a profitable setnetting venture; an independent small-yield salmon fishing enterprise based on the traditional methods of coastal natives.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

smallv.

Brit. /smɔːl/, U.S. /smɔl/, /smɑl/
Forms: Old English smalian, Middle English smale, Middle English smaly, 1600s– small.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: small adj.
Etymology: < small adj. Compare Middle Dutch smaelen to become thin (only in an apparently isolated attestation in past participle ysmaelt; early modern Dutch smalen, smallen to slander, insult), Middle Low German smālen to make narrow or thin, (more frequently, in extended use) to slander, insult, Middle High German smaln to become small or thin (German (now regional: chiefly Switzerland) schmalen), Swedish smala to make small, reduce (now chiefly used reflexively), Old Danish smalle to make thin (used reflexively; Danish smalle, (now regional) smale to make narrow or thin, (rare) to become narrow), also (with i-mutation) Old Frisian smelia to make narrow or thin, Middle Low German smēlen to make narrow or thin, (in extended use) to slander, insult, Middle High German smeln to make small, reduce (early modern German schmēlen, smeelen, German (now regional) schmälen, chiefly in extended use ‘to slander, insult’).There is unlikely to be continuity of use from Old English onwards, and the word was probably re-formed independently not only in sense 2, but also in sense 1.
rare before 20th cent.
1. transitive. To make thin or small; to lessen, reduce. Also with down.
ΘΚΠ
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
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
eOESmalunge [see smalling n. at Derivatives].
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxxiii. 1065 Poudre þerof medlid with vynegre smaleþ and þynneþ fulle [MS foule] brestes of wenches.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 85 Smale þe lippis of woundis þat ben grete, & kutte hem awey.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 460 Smalyn, or make lesse, minoro.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Apointi,..sharpened, or smalled, at the point.
1681 Compl. Jockey v. 13, in Markham's Master-piece Revived Take it [sc. some bread] and mix it with his portion of Oats by smalling it amongst them.
1707 T. Orme Former Prints for Standing Army 38 Either by shortning the Measure, or smalling the Liquor, or taking away a little of the Brewer's immense Profit, we were eas'd of all these Incumbrances for Excise.
1888 Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 174 The days..have not, I flatter myself, been so wasted that I cannot small my soul, just as the preacher smalled his voice.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed xiv. 95 Welch smalled his hands against his desk.
1999 G. Sartori in R. Y. Hazan & M. Maor Parties, Elections & Cleavages (2000) i. 25 The direct election of the Prime Minister has ‘smalled’ the larger parties.
2007 A. Theroux Laura Warholic xxx. 458 Was that why [Bertrand] Russell cynically declared that, no matter how you small it down, what ultimately constitutes a nation is merely a sentiment and an instinct?
2. intransitive. To become thin or small; to diminish, grow less. Also with down, off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > become reduced in size or extent [verb (intransitive)]
narrowOE
waneOE
smallOE
slakec1380
welk1390
fade1398
lessenc1400
minish?a1425
decay1489
adminisha1500
diminish1520
to grow downwards?1523
ungrow1598
scant1607
settlea1642
to run off1765
dwarf1776
comminute1850
downsize1977
OE Leechbk. Fragm. (Harl.) (1865) ii. lix. 282 Syle him þa mettas þe syn eaðmylte & god seaw hæbben & he fram þam mettum mæge smaligan.
a1618 J. Sylvester Wood-mans Bear (1620) liv I saw,..Smalling down by measure's law, Her straight comely shapen back.
1902 T. Hardy Poems Past & Present 7 The broad bottoms rip the bearing brine—All smalling slowly to the gray sea line.
1950 M. Henry Born to Trot vi. 132 For a long time he stood there until the three creatures smalled and were lost to view.
1999 National Geographic Dec. 47/2 The deer adapted to their environment by smalling down and enjoying having Big Pine to themselves.
2002 S. Burke Deadwater viii. 75 Her voice smalled off so pathetically that he might have hugged her but that she was responding too well.

Derivatives

ˈsmalling n.
ΚΠ
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xlvii. 260 Læcedomas þa þe þynnunge mægen hæbben & smalunge.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 116 It perteneþ to lordez..phisiciens of ingrossacioun & impignacioun, i. making fatte, &..extenuacioun, i. smallyng.
1888 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 17 117 In addition to this smalling of the muscles as well as of the bony outlet of the pelvis.., there exists yet a further increase to the difficulty of parturition.
1999 Duke Law Jrnl. 48 891 (title) The Smalling of America?
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 26 Dec. ii. 44/2 The problem lay less in the malling of art than in the smalling of art. Everything seemed tailored to the requirements of art-fair booth display.
ˈsmalling adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [adjective]
lessening1611
smalling1665
diminishing1793
minifying1850
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 36 By sucking at the smalling Pipe, more of the Air..may be suck'd out.
2001 B. R. Barber Truth of Power (2008) x. 224 Embodying the smalling parochialism of presidential staffers ever since, the future chief of staff..regaled us with the keen insights of a first-time traveler.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

smalladv.

Brit. /smɔːl/, U.S. /smɔl/, /smɑl/
Forms: Old English–early Middle English smæle, Old English–Middle English smale, Middle English smalle, Middle English–1600s smal, Middle English– small; also Scottish pre-1700 smal.
Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymon: small adj.
Etymology: Originally < small adj. + Old English -e, suffix forming adverbs; subsequently reinforced by conversion < small adj.Already in Old English use in sense 1 formally indistinguishable in some constructions from predicative use of small adj., especially when the object is in the plural. Compare quot. lOE at sense 1, where the variant reading clearly shows an adverb. It is also possible that the endingless form smæl should occasionally be interpreted as adverb in such contexts rather than as predicative adjective. In Middle English, the two types of construction are no longer distinguishable on formal grounds. In sense 2b after Middle French menu (c1372 in this sense, in the passage translated in quot. ?c1450; already c1100 in Old French in sense ‘frequently’ in e menut e suvent (Middle French menu et souvent ), c1150 in sense ’into small pieces’)), use as adverb of menu , adjective (see menu n.). Also attested early in surnames, as Rogero Singsmal (1301; see below), Ricardus Hacksmal (1327). Perhaps compare also William Smalwriter (1275), if that name does not reflect the adjective. Earlier currency of the phrase to sing small is apparently implied by the early surname Rogero Singsmal (1301), although the precise sense is unclear; compare also quot. eOE at sense 2a. In early modern English originally after post-classical Latin minurizare (1538 in quot. 1538 at Phrases a) and its etymon ancient Greek μινυρίζειν (see minutize v.).
1. Into fine or minute particles; into small pieces or morsels.In some examples perhaps the adjective used predicatively.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or breaking up into constituent parts > [adverb] > into separate parts > small
smallOE
smally1578
mincingly1598
minutely1599
OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) clviii. 202 Genime of þysse wyrte wyrtruman ðæs dustes smæle gecnucudes tyn penega gewihte.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xiii. 265 Þeah þu hie smale [eOE Otho swa smealice] todæle swa dust, ne miht þu ðeah ealle men emlice mid gehealdan.
a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 65 (MED) Tac argul, a thing that deyares deyet with, ant grint hit smal.
in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 55 (MED) Iohan þe mullere haþ y-grounde smal, smal, smal.
a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 6 Þan choppe hem smale.
c1480 (a1400) St. George l. 561 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 192 Þe quhele..brak ful smal.
1526 Treasure of Pore Men f. xxxviii Take Egrymonde and stampe it smal & temper it with lyfe hony.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 278 The floures are blewe,..with five little leaves underneath them, very small cut and jagged.
1614 G. Markham Bull in Cheape & Good Husb. xxix. 58 There is nothing killeth wormes in the bodies of cattell sooner than Sauen chopt small and beaten with sweet Butter.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 57 Bruise or cut very smal into your butter, a little Time. View more context for this quotation
1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Abscess Give 'em Lettice or Blites chopped small.
1759 R. Brown Compl. Farmer 81 Geese will..fatten well on carrots cut small.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 812 A quarter of an ounce avoirdupoise of the finest white soap, grated small.
1866 H. Toogood Treasury Fr. Cookery 171 Take two pounds of truffles; clean them and take off the skin. Chop it up small. Take any spare fat from the turkey.
1959 Home Encycl. 214 Appetising mixtures, finely minced or diced small, of poultry, game, fish, ham, tongue or foie gras.
2000 tr. in T. Scully Neapolitan Recipe Coll. iv. 192 Get a chicken and cut it up very small and put it in a carafe with a little rosewater and a little whole cinnamon.
2.
a. Quietly, gently; in a small or low voice. Now rare.In quot. a1616 perhaps: in a thin and high-pitched voice. Sc. National Dict. (1971) records this sense as still in use in Angus, Perthshire, and west-central Scotland in 1970.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [adverb] > in an undertone
smalleOE
softlya1375
alowc1400
lowly1440
in mutec1530
inwardly1530
inward1644
sotto voce1737
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lxiii. 461 Ac ðonne hit nealæcð dæge, ðonne singð he [sc. the cock] smælor & smicror.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 7232 Alisaunder gynneþ leighȝe smale.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 20 (MED) Who was that that piped so small?
1556 T. Hill tr. B. della Rocca Brief Epitomye Whole Art Phisiognomie xxii. sig. C.ivv They that speake small, safte, fayntlye or weryedlie.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream i. ii. 46 Thats all one: you shall play it in a Maske: and you may speake as small as you will. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) i. i. 44 She has browne haire, and speakes small like a woman. View more context for this quotation
1664 T. Killigrew Thomaso iv. ii, in Comedies & Trag. 365 'Tis so fine to be without a beard, and speak small, and sing a trebble.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at Mince To speak small and imperfectly.
1838 Extra Globe (Washington, D.C.) 26 July 286/1 A young gentleman with rattan and ruffles, who talked small like a woman, was exalted to the pulpit.
1887 R. L. Stevenson Memories & Portraits viii The reposing toiler, thoughtfully smoking, talking small, as if in honour of the stillness.
1931 A. A. Macgregor Last Voy. St Kilda 104 ‘Whisht!’ he whispered. ‘You must be speaking small.’
1949 W. V. T. Clark Track of Cat i. iv. 49 He spoke small too, reluctant to make a sound.
†b. Slyly; wantonly. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adverb]
untowelya1230
jollilyc1400
wantonlyc1405
small?c1450
nice?1544
loosely1548
licentiously1561
liberally1596
naughtily1609
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adverb]
foxlyc1175
craftilyc1225
craftlyc1225
slylyc1275
fellyc1300
quaintc1300
quaintlyc1325
sleightlyc1330
subtly1340
sly1370
espyinglya1382
wisely1390
wililya1400
wilyc1400
subtilelyc1405
ginnouslya1425
semylyc1440
serpentlya1450
small?c1450
cautelously1477
politicly1477
sleightfullyc1480
artificiously1536
insidiously1545
sleightily1549
artificially1566
cunningly1603
versutely1616
artfully1631
subdolously1638
serpentinely1656
slimlya1680
pawkily1714
politically1764
trickfullyc1790
trickishly1824
leerily1859
dodgily1868
trickily1895
foxily1933
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 16 She helde not her astate.., for she loked smal [Fr. regardoit menu] and wynked ofte.., and euer loked ouer the shuldre.
†3.
a. To a small extent or degree; little, not much; slightly. Obsolete.
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
c1300 All Souls (Laud) l. 371 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 431 (MED) Þis false esecutores..Þat muche habbez of dedes godes and deleth þare-of ful smale.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 582 I wepte but smal.
c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 411 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 19 I dred rycht small þine angelis.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 9 He trompit nocht small, quhen he send his Apostlis our all the warld to ger schawe the cristyn faith.
1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages Prol. sig. A.ijv I knew small quhat hir mater did mene.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. I3 If thou dost weepe..it small auailes my mood. View more context for this quotation
1637 Earl of Strafford Let. 26 June (1739) II. 83 But in Truth, this moves me very small.
1647 F. Bland Souldiers March 42 It small avails to hurt no man, except thou studiest to help and profit many.
1723 S. Wesley Battle of Sexes xi.15 Now Beauty small avails, for Wisdom knows How soon her transitory glories fail.
1773 J. Robertson Poems (rev. ed.) 246 To Me it small avails what Lot, Nor Queen or Princelins have I got To wail my destiny.
b. With to (a person's gain, profit, etc.). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Funke Actes & Hist. Worlde 1532–50 in tr. J. Carion Thre Bks. Cronicles f. cxcix Within two yeres after the Turkes obtayned the possession of the saied towne agayn, smal to our reioysing.
1569 Endes & Deathes Two Prisoners (single sheet) Then Skarlet tooke hym by the hande And preached, though small to his regarde.
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1190/2 The Frenchmen..sometimes made issues forth, but small to their gaine.
1582 A. Munday Eng. Romayne Lyfe sig. I3 Promising..hee would informe the Pope of it, which should bee but small to their profite.
1650 J. Trapp Solomonis Παναρετος (Prov. vi. 2) 47 Of a certain Pope and his Nephew, it is said that the one never spoke as he thought, the other never performed what he spake. This was small to their commendation.
1668 F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue II. xxvi. 233 That shall I do quickly, said my Master, but it will be small to your gain.
4. In a fine or small manner; on a small scale, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adverb]
smally1562
small1582
smitch1895
1582 in Misc. Stair Soc. (1971) I. 115 As men growis in aige thair hand is war staiblit and thairfoir thai writ rather greitar nor smallar.
1637 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. 197 It would be no art..to spin small, and make hypocrisy a goodly web, and to go through the market as a saint among men.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. i. iii. 14 The Arabic Character, though it shew beautiful, yet is it too elaborate, and takes up too much room, and cannot well be written small.
1710 tr. P. Bayle Hist. & Crit. Dict. II. 1303 Because he writ small and plain, he set down upon these Leaves abundance of Things, which may easily be read.
1766 J. Northall Trav. through Italy iii. iv. 222 Michael Angelo's famous design of the last judgment, painted small.
1820 J. Keats Lamia ii, in Lamia & Other Poems 30 Her open eyes, Where he was mirror'd small in paradise.
1887 R. Montagu Scylla or Charybdis; Which? 6 A peasant proprietor is merely a landlord written small.
1998 C. A. Barros Autobiogr. ii. 41 Figura..summarizes emblematically the action or events it describes. It is the idea of the text drawn small.
5. Nautical. Close to the wind.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > [adverb] > close to the wind
near1589
nigha1687
small1799
1799 Vocab. Sea Phrases I. 203 Steer small.
1800 Monthly Mag. & Amer. Rev. Sept. 170/1 She would not steer small, and several times the captain thought she was going to founder.
1848 J. F. Cooper Oak Openings II. xiv. 203 All the difficulty was reduced to steering so ‘small’, as seamen term it, as to prevent one or the other of the lugs from jibing.
1896 H. Collingwood Log of Privateersman xxv. 362 Ay, ay, sir; ‘steer small’ it is!
1914 Yachting Sept. 138/1 The procedure..is to select any course..and steady the vessel on that for three or four minutes, taking care to steer small and keeping her just as close to the course as possible.
2006 B. Cooper & L. Cooper Sell up & Sail (ed. 5) vii. 145 They bellowed..down the speaking tube, ‘Steer small, blast you!’ (use less rudder).
6. In an unambitious or narrow way. Chiefly in to think small. Cf. to think big at big adv. 2c.
ΚΠ
1912 Middletown (N.Y.) Daily Times Press 15 Oct. 4/7 Think big and your deeds will grow. Think small, and you'll fall behind.
1962 A. Lurie Love & Friendship xv. 300 Living in a small town had subtly affected my mind, and I had begun to Think Small.
1987 Newsweek (Nexis) 4 May 72 Nobody ever accused Prince of dreaming small. And why should he? In the nine years since his first album was released,..he has delivered on just about every brag.
2008 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 19 Aug. 18 He said thinking small was a key reason the council had not improved as much as it should.

Phrases

to sing small.
†a. To sing with a small or low voice. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Minurizo.., to synge smalle, or to feyne in syngynge.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 94 Are not most of our kings being when they sing small and fine [Gk. μινυρίσωσι], after a puling maner, saluted Apolloes for their musicke.
a1627 T. Middleton Women beware Women iv. ii, in 2 New Playes (1657) 180 I marvell'd she sung so small indeed, being no Maid.
b. colloquial. To adopt a humble tone or manner; to use less assertive language, or to qualify or withdraw a previous statement; to say nothing, to be silent or dumb. Also English regional (Essex): †to put up with less than was expected (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > be humble [verb (intransitive)]
lowc1175
to be of low sail1390
peep1736
to sing small1738
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
1738 W. Quaint Humours of Road iii. 40 Sing small, here's Com—pany coming.
1751 T. Pellow Hist. Long Captivity 370 The Moors were in a very great Hurry, calling aloud to know what we were doing..endeavouring to get themselves upon Deck, when I told them to sing small.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. xviii. 111 I must myself sing small in her company!;—I will never meet at hard-edge with her.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Sing small, to be humbled, confounded, or abashed, to have little or nothing to say for one's self.
1839 C. Clark John Noakes & Mary Styles 24 If e'er their jars they've maade ya feel, This gud adwice you'll call; For sich warman's gripe—or I'll be darn'd—'Tood soon maake ya sing small.
c1865 W. E. Gladstone Let. in J. Morley Life Gladstone (1903) III. viii. vii. 114 Sir R. Peel indorsed the remonstrance, and I had to sing small.
1921 H. Garland Daughter of Middle Border 146 I began to sing small. ‘Don't expect too much of the Garland Homestead... It is very far from being the home I should like you to be mistress of.’
1932 C. Sforza European Dictatorships iii. 28 In a debate in the Senate, Mussolini knew how to sing small expressing his horror of the crime.
2000 D. Lambdin King's Captain vi. 70 Most tykes don't get even that, so sing small and be grateful.

Compounds

small-beaten, small-drawn, small-set, etc., adjectives.
ΚΠ
1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Lev. xvi. 12) 144 This incens smal-beaten might figure Christ in his Agonie.
1703 London Gaz. No. 3944/4 Also John Simonds, a small-set Fellow.
1844 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 30 Mar. 195/1 The son was sixteen, a small-made lad, who entirely supported the family by means of his gun.
a1918 W. Owen Poems (1920) 13 And terror's first constriction over, Their hearts remain small drawn.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1OEadj.n.2eOEv.eOEadv.eOE
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