small

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Not large in size or amount.

   She ordered a small serving of ice cream.

2. 2
   adj

   Limited in size or importance.

   He runs a small business from home.

3. 3
   adj

   Young, as a child.

   Remember when the children were small?

4. 4
   adj

   Of a letter, lowercase rather than capital.

   Write your name with a small letter, not a capital.

Common collocations

• a small town Adjective + noun
• small group Adjective + noun
• small island Adjective + noun
• small apartment Adjective + noun
• small business Adjective + noun
• small company Adjective + noun
• small number Adjective + noun
• small step Adjective + noun
• small village Adjective + noun
• small arms Adjective + noun

From 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”).

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