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Little

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little¹

  • /ˈlɪ.tl̩/
  • [ˈlɪ.ɾɫ̩] Australia
  • /ˈlɘ.tl̩/ New Zealand
  • /lɪʈl̩/ South Asia
  • [lɪʈ.ɐl] India, North
  • [lɪʈ.(ʈ)ɨɭ] India, South

Sounds like Littell, Lyttle · Rhymes with -ɪtəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English litel, litell, luitel, lutel, lutil, luytel, from Old English lȳtel, lyttel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil (“little”), from *lūtan (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, crouch, duck”), equivalent to lout + -le.

Cognates

Cognate with Yola lethel, litha, lithel, lythea (“little”), North Frisian letj (“little, small”), Saterland Frisian litje (“little, small”), West Frisian lyts (“little, small”), Dutch luttel (“few, little, mere”), German lütt, lützel (“little, small”), Low German lütt, lüttje (“little, small”), Danish liden, lille (“little, small”), Elfdalian litn (“small”), Faroese lítil (“little, small”), Icelandic lítill (“little, small”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish liten (“little, small”), Crimean Gothic lista (“insufficient, very little”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils, “little, small”); also Albanian lus, lut (“to beg, plead, request”), Lithuanian liūdnas (“sad, sorrowful”), Bulgarian and Macedonian луд (lud, “crazy, insane, mad”), Serbo-Croatian лу̑д, lȗd (“crazy”). Related also to Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend low”); and perhaps to Old English lytiġ (“deceitful”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍄𐍃 (liuts, “deceitful”). More at lout.

adjective littler · lesser · littlest · least · lil · li'l

  1. Small, not large, limited, particularly Not that she cared twopence for the enormous sum, really, now that concord was established! No, her little flutters of honest remorse were constantly disappearing in the immense exultant joy of being alive and of contemplating her idol.
  2. Small, limited in size. This is a little table.
  3. Short, limited in extent. It’s only a little ways now.
  4. Brief, limited in duration. I always feel better after a little sleep.
  5. Young, limited in growth. Where's the little boys' room?
  6. especially Younger, regardless of size or height. You may be an Olympic weightlifter but you're still my little sister.
  7. Undeveloped or underdeveloped, limited in development, particularly (offensive, of a male) in the genitals. "You are a little, little man," she proclaimed, staring obviously below my waist as she pronounced the second "little." It was almost disappointing. I'd heard that one before, but it still left a new scar each time.
  8. Small, limited in number, having few members. That's a mighty little herd you've got there.
  9. Insignificant, trivial, limited in importance. It’s of little importance.
  10. offensive Weak, inferior, unimportant, etc., used to belittle a person. Listen up, you little shit.
  11. capitalized, often Denoting a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place. If you want to find Little France, take any turning on the north side of Leicester square, and wander in a zigzag fashion Oxford Streetwards. The Little is rather smokier and more squalid than the Great France upon the other side of the Manche.
  12. capitalized, derogatory, often Used with the name of a place to imply that the inhabitants have an insular attitude and are hostile to those they perceive as foreign. He is the embodiment of Fleet Street bullying, using his newspaper to peddle his Little-England, curtain-twitching Alan Partridgesque view of the world, which manages to combine sanctimonious, pompous moralising and prurient, voyeuristic, judgmental obsession
  13. derogatory Mean, selfish, bigoted, etc., limited in spirit. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
  14. capitalized, figuratively, often Independent, limited in scale, especially contrasted with well-organized and well-capitalized cartels controlling most of an industry, market, etc. Little Science vs Big Science... Little Steel vs Big Steel...

adverb less · lesser · least · lil · li'l · li'l'

  1. Not much. This is a little-known fact: the new model is little faster than the old one.
  2. Not at all. Little did he know that the burglar was creeping upstairs at that very moment.

determiner less · least · lil · li'l · li'l' · lit'l

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

pronoun lil · li'l · li'l' · lit'l · leetle · lickle

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

noun littles · lil · li'l · li'l' · lit'l · leetle

  1. singular, uncountable A small amount. I hope the little we've done will be useful.
  2. countable, informal A child, particularly an infant.
  3. countable A newly initiated member of a sorority or fraternity, who is mentored by a big. He was there the night of Cristoph's party. All the littles were assigned to their bigs. Ian and Christoph had rushed the same fraternity. When they became upperclassmen, they both ended up on the board.
  4. countable The participant who acts out the younger role.
  5. countable One who has mentally age regressed to a childlike state. People with [dissociative identity] disorder frequently have a younger personality among their distinctive personalities. However, it’s believed that the "little" may not be a separate personality. Instead, it may be a regressed version of the original personality.
  6. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of little go (“type of examination”).little go I go up for my Little tomorrow.

Little²

  • /ˈlɪtəl/

Where it comes from

English surname, from the adjective little (“small, (ironic) big, not much, younger”). Compare Short, Shorty.

This has also been translated and adapted from similar-meaning names in other languages, such as:

* Irish Ó Beagáin (“descendant of Beagán”), from a diminutive of beag (“small”), see also Began.

* French Petit and Polish Mały

* Native American names such as Navajo hastiin yázhí (“little man”), see Yazzie.

proper noun Littles · Littel · Littell · Lytle · Lyttle · Litle

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

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