few
/fjuː/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.60 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
det
An indefinite, but usually small, number of.
det
Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.
det
(US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "There are a few cars (=some, but a relatively small number) in the street."
- "Quite a few people (=a significant number) were pleasantly surprised."
- "I think he's had a few drinks."
- "The few cheapest hotels I could find are the farthest too."
- "No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again."
- "Very few did she have not to go there, did she?"
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- British usage