small

small
small O.E. smæl "slender, narrow, small," from P.Gmc. *smalaz (Cf. O.S., Dan., Swed., M.Du., Du., O.H.G. smal, O.Fris. smel, Ger. schmal "narrow," Goth. smalista "smallest," O.N. smali "small cattle, sheep"), perhaps from a PIE root * (s)melo- "smaller animal" (Cf. Gk. melon, O.Ir. mil "a small animal;" O.C.S. malu "bad"). Original sense of "narrow" now almost obsolete, except in reference to waistline and intestines.
My sister ... is as white as a lilly, and as small as a wand. [Shakespeare, "Two Gentlemen of Verona," 1591]
Sense of "not large, of little size" developed in O.E. With many extended senses, e.g. small fry, first recorded 1690s of little fish, 1885 of insignificant people. Small potatoes first attested 1940; small change "something of little value" is from 1902; small talk "chit-chat" (1751) first recorded in Chesterfield's "Letters." Small world as a comment upon an unexpected meeting of acquaintances is recorded from 1895. Small-town (adj.) "unsophisticated, provincial" is recorded from 1824. Small arms, indicating those capable of being carried in the hand (contrasted to ordnance) is recorded from 1710.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Small — can refer to the following:* Something very gracious * Something of low size. * Minuscule, or lower case, is the small form (case) of a letter * SMALL, an ALGOL like programming language * A term to describe smaller aircraft for purposes of air… …   Wikipedia

  • small — small, little, diminutive, petite, wee, tiny, teeny, weeny, minute, microscopic, miniature can all mean conspicuously below the average in magnitude, especially physical magnitude. Small (opposed to large) and little (opposed to big, great) are… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Small — (sm[add]l), a. [Compar. {Smaller}; superl. {Smallest}.] [OE. small, AS. sm[ae]l; akin to D. smal narrow, OS. & OHG. smal small, G. schmal narrow, Dan. & Sw. smal, Goth. smals small, Icel. smali smal cattle, sheep, or goats; cf. Gr. mh^lon a sheep …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Small — ist der Familienname von: Aaron Small (* 1971), US amerikanischer Baseballspieler Albion Woodbury Small (1854–1926), US amerikanischer Soziologe Brendon Small (* 1976), US amerikanischer Schauspieler und Musiker Chris Small (* 1973), schottischer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • small — [smôl] adj. [ME smal, narrow, slender < OE smæl, akin to Ger schmal, narrow < IE base * (s)mēlo , smaller animal: see MAL ] 1. little in size, esp. when compared with others of the same kind; not large or big; limited in size 2. a) little… …   English World dictionary

  • Small-C — es una especificación para un subconjunto del lenguaje de programación C, conveniente para microcomputadores limitados en recursos y para sistema embebidos. También se refiere a la implementación de ese subconjunto de instrucciones. Originalmente …   Wikipedia Español

  • small — [smɔːl ǁ smɒːl] adjective 1. not large in size or amount: • Boeing doesn t make a small, 100 seat plane. • The recent fare increases are small. • For a small fee, we can sell your shares for you. 2. unimportant or easy to deal with: • The company …   Financial and business terms

  • small — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of less than normal or usual size. 2) not great in amount, number, strength, or power. 3) not fully grown or developed; young. 4) insignificant; unimportant. 5) (of a business or its owner) operating on a modest scale. ► NOUN… …   English terms dictionary

  • small — 〈[smɔ:l] Abk.: S〉 klein (als Kleidergröße) [engl.] * * * small [smɔ:l ] <indekl. Adj.> [engl. small = klein]: klein (als Kleidergröße; Abk.: S). * * * Small   [smɔːl],    1) Adam, südafrikanischer Schriftsteller, * Wellington ( …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Small — Small, adv. 1. In or to small extent, quantity, or degree; little; slightly. [Obs.] I wept but small. Chaucer. It small avails my mood. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Not loudly; faintly; timidly. [Obs. or Humorous] [1913 Webster] You may speak as small …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”