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 решить контрольную работу
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 — (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 — 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 — Small, v. t. To make little or less. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Small — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Le nom de Small est porté par plusieurs personnalités (par ordre alphabétique) : Albion Woodbury Small (1854 1926), sociologue américain. Bertrice… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • small — smallness, n. /smawl/, adj., smaller, smallest, adv., smaller, smallest, n. adj. 1. of limited size; of comparatively restricted dimensions; not big; little: a small box. 2. slender, thin, or narrow: a small waist. 3. not large as compared with… …   Universalium

  • Small-C — In computing, Small C is both a subset of the C programming language, suitable for resource limited microcomputers and embedded systems, and an implementation of that subset. Originally valuable as an early compiler for microcomputer systems… …   Wikipedia

  • small — I. adjective Etymology: Middle English smal, from Old English smæl; akin to Old High German smal small, Greek mēlon small domestic animal Date: before 12th century 1. a. having comparatively little size or slight dimensions b. lowercase 2. a.… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

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