little
little adj
OE lytel.
- Slight; trivial; of small power; not of great importance.
- Meek; humble; [fig.] fond; precious; [metaphor] vulnerable; tender; sensitive; emotionally fragile.
- Small in quantity; opposed to much.
- Short in period of time.
- Small in size; opposed to great or large.
- Young; small in size; early in years.
- Dear; sweet; beloved; [paradox] important; meaninful.
little adv
see little, adj.
- Not very much; [emphatic negative, as in he little knows = 'he is far from knowing.']
- Slightly; in a small quantity; to a limited degree; [sometimes with “a” as a phrase.]
little n
see little, adj.
- Only a small quantity or amount; not much; often preceded by but.
- A small, slight thing; a thing of small importance; a trifle.
- Chiefly with the; those who are little, people of small importance.
- A short distance away.