Link Centre Dictionary

few

UK/fjuː/ US/fɪu̯/ very common uk
adjective (1) noun (2)

adjective

1.

a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number

  • “a few weeks ago”
  • “a few more wagons than usual”
  • “an invalid”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Antonyms
Similar

noun

1.

an indefinite but relatively small number

  • “they bought a case of beer and drank a few”
2.

a small elite group

  • “it was designed for the discriminating few”

Origin

From Middle English fewe, from Old English fēaw (“few”), from Proto-West Germanic *fau, from Proto-Germanic *fawaz (“few”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”). Cognate with Old Saxon fā (“few”), Old High German fao, fō (“few, little”), Old Norse fár (“few”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍃 (faus, “few”). Also related with Latin paucus (“little, few”) and pauper (“poor”), from which latter English poor and pauper; see these.

Phrases

  • a fair few
  • a few
  • a few clowns short of a circus
  • a few fries short of a Happy Meal
  • a few roos loose in the top paddock
  • a few spanners short of a tool box
  • a good few
  • few and far between

Related words

Broader terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.