small

small
\ \ [OE] Small comes from a prehistoric Germanic *smalaz, which in turn probably goes back ultimately to *smel-, a variant of the Indo- European base *mel- ‘grind’ (source of English meal, mill, etc). Etymologically, therefore, it could well denote ‘ground up into little bits’. Its Germanic relatives, such as German schmal and Dutch smal, have become specialized in meaning to ‘narrow’, but while English did start off down this semantic path, it has long since abandoned it.
\ \ Cf.MEAL, MILL, MOLAR

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • 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 — small, little, diminutive, petite, wee, tiny, teeny, weeny, minute, microscopic, miniature can all mean conspicuously below the average in magnitude, especially physical magnitude. Small (opposed to large) and little (opposed to big, great) are… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 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 — [smôl] adj. [ME smal, narrow, slender < OE smæl, akin to Ger schmal, narrow < IE base * (s)mēlo , smaller animal: see MAL ] 1. little in size, esp. when compared with others of the same kind; not large or big; limited in size 2. a) little… …   English World dictionary

  • Small-C — es una especificación para un subconjunto del lenguaje de programación C, conveniente para microcomputadores limitados en recursos y para sistema embebidos. También se refiere a la implementación de ese subconjunto de instrucciones. Originalmente …   Wikipedia Español

  • small — [smɔːl ǁ smɒːl] adjective 1. not large in size or amount: • Boeing doesn t make a small, 100 seat plane. • The recent fare increases are small. • For a small fee, we can sell your shares for you. 2. unimportant or easy to deal with: • The company …   Financial and business terms

  • 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 …   Etymology dictionary

  • small — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of less than normal or usual size. 2) not great in amount, number, strength, or power. 3) not fully grown or developed; young. 4) insignificant; unimportant. 5) (of a business or its owner) operating on a modest scale. ► NOUN… …   English terms dictionary

  • small — 〈[smɔ:l] Abk.: S〉 klein (als Kleidergröße) [engl.] * * * small [smɔ:l ] <indekl. Adj.> [engl. small = klein]: klein (als Kleidergröße; Abk.: S). * * * Small   [smɔːl],    1) Adam, südafrikanischer Schriftsteller, * Wellington ( …   Universal-Lexikon

  • 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

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