Lexic.us

Definition of Little

1. Adverb. Not much. "He talked little about his family"

2. Adjective. Limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent. "A little (or small) group"

3. Noun. A small amount or duration. "He accepted the little they gave him"

4. Adjective. (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with 'a') at least some. "There's a slight chance it will work"

5. Adjective. (of children and animals) young, immature. "Small children"

6. Adjective. (informal) small and of little importance. "Giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"

7. Adjective. (of a voice) faint. "A still small voice"

8. Adjective. Low in stature; not tall. "A little man"

9. Adjective. Lowercase. "E.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters"

10. Adjective. Small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context). "What a nasty little situation"

Definition of Little

1. a. Small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; -- opposed to big or large; as, a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little hill; a little distance; a little child.

2. n. That which is little; a small quantity, amount, space, or the like.

3. adv. In a small quantity or degree; not much; slightly; somewhat; -- often with a preceding it.

Definition of Little

1. Adjective. Small in size. ¹

2. Adjective. Insignificant, trivial. ¹

3. Adjective. Very young. ¹

4. Adjective. (context: of a sibling) Younger. ¹

5. Adjective. (non-gloss definition Used with the name of place, especially of a country, to denote a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place.) ¹

6. Adverb. Not much. ¹

7. Determiner. Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Little

1. small [adj -TLER, -TLEST] / a small amount [n -S] - See also: small

Medical Definition of Little

1. 1. Small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; opposed to big or large; as, a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little hill; a little distance; a little child. "He sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature." (Luke xix. 3) 2. Short in duration; brief; as, a little sleep. "Best him enough: after a little time, I'll beat him too." (Shak) 3. Small in quantity or amount; not much; as, a little food; a little air or water. "Conceited of their little wisdoms, and doting upon their own fancies." (Barrow) 4. Small in dignity, power, or importance; not great; insignificant; contemptible. "When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes?" (I Sam. Xv. 17) 5. Small in force or efficiency; not strong; weak; slight; inconsiderable; as, little attention or exertion;little effort; little care or diligence. "By sad experiment I know How little weight my words with thee can find." (Milton) 6. Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow; contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous. "The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise, Because their natures are little." (Tennyson) Little chief. The offices of prime, tierce, sext, and nones. Vespers and compline are sometimes included. Little ones, young children. "The men, and the women, and the little ones." (Deut. Ii. 34) Origin: The regular comparative of this word is wanting, its place being supplied by less, or, rarely, lesser. See Lesser. For the superlative least is used, the regular form, littlest, occurring very rarely, except in some of the English provinces, and occasionally in colloquial language. " Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear."] [OE. Litel, lutel, AS. Ltel, litel, lt; akin to OS. Littil, D. Luttel, LG. Lutt, OHG. Luzzil, MHG. Lutzel; and perh. To AS. Lytig deceitful, lot deceit, Goth. Liuts deceitful, lutn to deceive; cf. Also Icel. Litill little, Sw. Liten, Dan. Liden, lille, Goth. Leitils, which appear to have a different root vowel. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Little

litterboxes litterbug litterbugs littered litterer litterers litterfall litterfalls littering litterings

litterless littermate littermates litters littery little(a) little-ease little-eases little-endian little-finger

little-go little-head snakeweed little-leaf fig little-league team little-owl little Eichmann little Eichmanns little Hitler little Hitlers

Literary usage of Little

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Glimpses of Fifty Years: The Autobiography of an American Woman by Frances Elizabeth Willard (1889)
"A little PILGRIM. Mother was nearly thirty-five when I was born, the fourth of her five children, one of whom, the first, had passed away in infancy, ..."

2. The Nursery by Fanny P Seaverns, John L. Shorey (Firm (1870)
"That little boy in the wagon is Lucy's baby-brother. His name is Ernest. ... And in a minute two pretty little rabbits came to her. ..."

3. Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings; the Folk-lore of the Old Plantation by Joel Chandler Harris (1880)
"ONE evening recently, the lady whom Uncle Remus calls “Miss Sally” missed her little seven-year-old., Making search for him through the house and through ..."

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