little

CEFRA1

/ˈlɪ.tl̩/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Small in size or amount.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Small, not large, limited, Short, limited in extent.

Examples

  • "What's the matter?" asked the little white rabbit.

  • I slept a little during lunch break because I was so tired.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈlɪ.ɾɫ̩]
  • /lɪʈl̩/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings
  1. Small in size.

  2. Small, not large, limited

  3. Small, limited in size.

More examples

In context
  • She seemed a little afraid of going inside.

  • I always feel better after a little sleep.

  • It’s only a little ways now.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The tiny puppy was so blank that it fit in the palm of my hand comfortably.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English litel, litell, luitel, lutel, lutil, luytel, from Old English lȳtel, lyttel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil (“little”), from *lūtan (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, crouch, duck”), equivalent to lout + -le. Cognates Cognate with Yola lethel, litha, lithel, lythea (“little”), North Frisian letj (“little, small”), Saterland Frisian litje (“little, small”), West Frisian lyts (“little, small”), Dutch luttel (“few, little, mere”), German lütt, lützel (“little, small”), Low German lütt, lüttje (“little, small”), Danish liden, lille (“little, small”), Elfdalian litn (“small”), Faroese lítil (“l...