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.

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  • 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 — (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-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 — 〈[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

  • SMALL — SMALL, Small Machine Algol Like Language, is a programming language developed by Dr. Nevil Brownlee of Auckland University.HistoryThe aim of the language was to enable people to write ALGOL like code that ran on a small machine. It also included… …   Wikipedia

  • Small — Small, n. 1. The small or slender part of a thing; as, the small of the leg or of the back. [1913 Webster] 2. pl. Smallclothes. [Colloq.] Hood. Dickens. [1913 Webster] 3. pl. Same as {Little go}. See under {Little}, a. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • small — agg.inv., s.f.inv. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} agg.inv., di misura o di capo di abbigliamento, piccolo, inferiore alla media; anche s.m. e f.inv.: questa maglietta è una small | s.f.inv., la misura stessa (abbr. S): portare la small {{line}}… …   Dizionario italiano

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