/smɔl/, /smɑl/, /smɔːl/
OriginFrom Middle English smal, from Old English smæl (“small, narrow, slender”), from Proto-Germanic *smalaz (“small”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mal-, *(s)mel- (“small, mean, malicious”). Cognate with Scots smal; sma (“small”); West Frisian smel (“narrow”); Dutch smal (“narrow”); German schmal (“narrow, small”); Low German small (“narrow”); Danish, Norwegian, Swedish smal (“narrow; thin; slender”); Latin malus (“bad”); Russian ма́лый (mályj, “small”).
- Not large or big; insignificant; few in number.
“A small serving of ice cream.”
“A small group.”
“Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of”
- Humiliated or insignificant.
“The bullies had succeeded in making him feel small.”
“For all the times that you made me feel small / I fell in love, now I feel nothing at all”
- Having a small penis, muscles, or other important body parts, regardless of overall body size.
“(of genitals)”
“Though over six feet tall, the man was very small and ashamed to undress.”
- figuratively, not-comparableYoung, as a child.
“Remember when the children were small?”
- not-comparableMinuscule or lowercase, referring to written or printed letters.
“"I've got catholic tastes. Catholic with a small "c", of course."”
- Evincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; paltry; mean.
“A true delineation of the smallest man is capable of interesting the greatest man.”
- Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short.
- Synonym of little (“of an industry or institution(s) therein: operating on a small scale, unlike larger counterparts”).
- archaicSlender, gracefully slim.
- especiallyThat is small (the manufactured size).
“I'll have a small coffee, thanks.”
- In a small fashion
“Don't write very small!”
- In or into small pieces.
“That's going to go in there. We've got some chives small chopped as well.”
- obsoleteTo a small extent.
“It small avails my mood.”
- obsoleteIn a low tone; softly.
“That's all one: you shall play it in a mask, and / you may speak as small as you will.”
- especially, noun-from-verb, uncountableOne of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, smaller than a medium.
- countable, especially, noun-from-verbAn item labelled or denoted as being that size.
“Two smalls and a large, please.”
- countable, especially, noun-from-verbOne who fits an item of that size.
- countable, noun-from-verb, rareAny part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back.
“I got a splitting pain in the small of my back”
- noun-from-verb, obsolete, transitiveTo make little or less.
- intransitive, noun-from-verbTo become small; to dwindle.
“And smalled till she was nought at all.”
- A surname.
““People have biases towards species that are glamorous,” said Dr. Ernie Small, author of the study and taxonomist for Agriculture Canada.”
Formssmaller(comparative) · smallest(superlative) · smalls(plural) · smalls(present, singular, third-person) · smalling(participle, present) · smalled(participle, past) · smalled(past) · Smalls(plural) · Smale(alternative) · Smales(alternative) · Smalles(alternative) · Smalls(alternative)