Meaning and Origin
What does the name Little mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from Wisconsin, U.S., the name Little is of English origin and means "Tiny".
- 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. "He sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature." [Luke xix. 3.]
- Short in duration; brief; as, a little sleep."Best him enough: after a little time, I'll beat him too." [Shak.]
- Small in quantity or amount; not much; as, a little food; a little air or water. "Conceited of their little wisdoms, and doting upon their own fancies." [Barrow.]
- Small in dignity, power, or importance; not great; insignificant; contemptible."When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes?" [I Sam. xv. 17.]
- Small in force or efficiency; not strong; weak; slight; inconsiderable; as, little attention or exertion; little effort; little care or diligence. "By sad experiment I know How little weight my words with thee can find." [Milton.]
- Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow; contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous."The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise, Because their natures are little." [Tennyson.]"The men, and the women, and the little ones." [Deut. ii. 34.] Little peach 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 Abbé 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.
Etymology: OE. litel lutel, AS. lȳtel lītel lȳt; akin to OS. littil, D. luttel, LG. lütt, OHG. luzzil, MHG. lützel; and perh. to AS. lytig deceitful, lot deceit, Goth. liuts deceitful, lutōn to deceive; cf. also Icel. lītill little, Sw. liten, Dan. liden lille, Goth. leitils, which appear to have a different root vowel
- That which is little; a small quantity, amount, space, or the like."Much was in little writ." [Dryden.]"There are many expressions, which carrying with them no clear ideas, are like to remove but little of my ignorance." [Locke.]
- A small degree or scale; miniature."His picture in little." [Shak.]"A little, to or in a small degree; to a limited extent; somewhat; for a short time. “ Stay a little.”" [Shak.]"The painter flattered her a little." [Shak.] By little and little ; Little by little By little and little ; Little by little by slow degrees; piecemeal; gradually.
- A small amount or duration ("he accepted the little they gave him")
- Small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context) ("a nice little job", "bless your little heart", "my dear little mother", "a sweet little deal", "I'm tired of your petty little schemes", "filthy little tricks", and "what a nasty little situation")
- (informal) small and of little importance ("a little (or small) matter")
- Limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent ("a little dining room", "a little house", and "a little (or small) group")
- (of a voice) faint ("a little voice")
- Lowercase ("little a")
- (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some ("little rain fell in May", "gave it little thought", "little time is left", "we still have little money", and "a little hope remained")
- (of children and animals) young, immature ("what a big little boy you are")
- Low in stature; not tall ("a little man")
- Not much ("he talked little about his family")
From Middle English litel, from Old English lȳtel, from Proto-Germanic *lūtilaz (“tending to stoop, crouched, little”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, bent, small”), equivalent to lout + -le. Cognate with Dutch luttel, German lütt and lützel, West Frisian lyts, Low German lütt, Old High German luzzil, Middle High German lützel, Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend low”); and perhaps to Old English lytig (“deceitful, lot deceit”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍄𐍃 (liuts, “deceitful”), 𐌻𐌿𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lutjan, “to deceive”); compare also Icelandic lítill (“little”), Swedish liten, Danish liden, lille, Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils), which appear to have a different root vowel. More at lout.