from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Little \Lit"tle\ (l[i^]t"t'l), a. [The regular comparative and
superlative of this word, littler and littlest, are often
used as comparatives of the sense small; but in the sense
few, less, or, rarely, lesser is the proper comparative and
least is the superlative. See {Lesser}. The regular form,
littlest, occurs also in some of the English provinces, and
occasionally in colloquial language. " Where love is great,
the littlest doubts are fear." --Shak.] [OE. litel, lutel,
AS. l[=y]tel, l[imac]tel, l[=y]t; akin to OS. littil, D.
luttel, LG. l["u]tt, OHG. luzzil, MHG. l["u]tzel; and perh.
to AS. lytig deceitful, lot deceit, Goth. liuts deceitful,
lut[=o]n to deceive; cf. also Icel. l[imac]till little, Sw.
liten, Dan. liden, lille, Goth. leitils, which appear to have
a different root vowel.]
1. Small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; -- opposed
to {big} or {large}; as, a little body; a little animal; a
little piece of ground; a little hill; a little distance;
a little child.
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He sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for
the press, because he was little of stature. --Luke
xix. 3.
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2. Short in duration; brief; as, a little sleep.
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Best him enough: after a little time,
I'll beat him too. --Shak.
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3. Small in quantity or amount; not much; as, a little food;
a little air or water.
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Conceited of their little wisdoms, and doting upon
their own fancies. --Barrow.
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4. Small in dignity, power, or importance; not great;
insignificant; contemptible.
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When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou
not made the head of the tribes? --I Sam. xv.
17.
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5. Small in force or efficiency; not strong; weak; slight;
inconsiderable; as, little attention or exertion;little
effort; little care or diligence.
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By sad experiment I know
How little weight my words with thee can find.
--Milton.
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6. Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow;
contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous.
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The long-necked geese of the world that are ever
hissing dispraise,
Because their natures are little. --Tennyson.
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{Little chief}. (Zool.) See {Chief hare}.
{Little Englander}, an Englishman opposed to territorial
expansion of the British Empire. See {Antiimperialism},
above. Hence:
{Little Englandism}.
{Little finger}, the fourth and smallest finger of the hand.
{Little go} (Eng. Universities), a public examination about
the middle of the course, which is less strict and
important than the final one; -- called also {smalls}. Cf.
{Great go}, under {Great}. --Thackeray.
{Little hours} (R. C. Ch.), the offices of prime, tierce,
sext, and nones. Vespers and compline are sometimes
included.
{Little-neck clam}, or {Little neck} (Zool.), the quahog, or
round clam.
{Little ones}, young children.
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The men, and the women, and the little ones. --Deut.
ii. 34.
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{Little peach}, a disease of peaches in which the fruit is
much dwarfed, and the leaves grow small and thin. The
cause is not known.
{Little Rhod"y}, Rhode Island; -- a nickname alluding to its
small size. It is the smallest State of the United States.
{Little Sisters of the Poor} (R. C. Ch.), an order of women
who care for old men and women and infirm poor, for whom
special houses are built. It was established at St.
Servan, Britany, France, in 1840, by the Abb['e] Le
Pailleur.
{Little slam} (Bridge Whist), the winning of 12 out of the 13
tricks. It counts 20 points on the honor score. Contrasted
with {grand slam}.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]