few

English

/fjuː/, /fju/

determiner
Definitions
  • (preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of.
  • (used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.
  • (meteorology) (US?) Obscuring one eighth to two eighths of the sky.
  • (meteorology) (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fewe inherited from Old English fēaw (few, little) inherited from Proto-Germanic *fawaz (few, small) derived from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (few, little, small, smallness, young, offspring), *peh₂w- (few, little, small, smallness, young, offspring).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*peh₂w-

Gloss

few, little, small, smallness, young, offspring

Concept
Semantic Field

Quantity

Ontological Category

Other

Kanji

少

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms