Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

little

[ˈlɪ.ɾɫ̩]

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.75 in modern English

Syllables: lit-tle
IPA: [ˈlɪ.ɾɫ̩]

6

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Small, not large, limited, particularly

adj

Small, not large, limited

adj

Small, not large, limited

adj

Small, not large, limited

adj

Small, not large, limited

adj

Small, not large, limited

adj

Small, not large, limited

adj

Small, not large, limited

Example Sentences

"Not that she cared twopence for the enormous sum, really, now that concord was established! No, her little flutters of honest remorse were constantly disappearing in the immense exultant joy of being alive and of contemplating her idol."
"This is a little table."
"It’s only a little ways now."
"I always feel better after a little sleep."
"Where's the little boys' room?"
"You may be an Olympic weightlifter but you're still my little sister."

Etymology

From Middle English litel, litell, luitel, lutel, lutil, luytel, from Old English lȳtel, lyttel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil (“little”), from *lūtan (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, crouch, duck”), equivalent to lout + -le. Cognates Cognate with Yola lethel, litha, lithel, lythea (“little”), North Frisian letj (“little, small”), Saterland Frisian litje (“little, small”), West Frisian lyts (“little, small”), Dutch luttel (“few, little, mere”), German lütt, lützel (“little, small”), Low German lütt, lüttje (“little, small”), Danish liden, lille (“little, small”), Elfdalian litn (“small”), Faroese lítil (“little, small”), Icelandic lítill (“little, small”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish liten (“little, small”), Crimean Gothic lista (“insufficient, very little”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils, “little, small”); also Albanian lus, lut (“to beg, plead, request”), Lithuanian liūdnas (“sad, sorrowful”), Bulgarian and Macedonian луд (lud, “crazy, insane, mad”), Serbo-Croatian лу̑д, lȗd (“crazy”). Related also to Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend low”); and perhaps to Old English lytiġ (“deceitful”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍄𐍃 (liuts, “deceitful”). More at lout.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: litel, lȳtel, *lūtil, *lūtaną, *lewd-
Suffix: lout

Regional Pronunciation

American English: [ˈlɪ.ɾɫ̩]

Usage

Inflected Forms

littler (comparative) lesser (comparative) littlest (superlative) least (superlative) lil (alternative) li'l (alternative) li'l' (alternative) lit'l (alternative) leetle (alternative) lickle (alternative) liddle (alternative) litle (alternative)

Derived Forms

grandlittle LBFM Lighthill Lightle Lightley Litle Littel Littell Little littlefur Littlehampton Littlehaven

Phrases

a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds a little bird told me a little birdie told me a little bit a little bit of bread and no cheese a little from column A and a little from column B a little goes a long way a little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Frequently Paired Words

a little li'l li'l' lil little by little little old belittle Littleman

Synonyms

compact fun size fun-sized ickle insignificant lit'l little low modest mini petty pint-sized

Homonyms

Littell Lyttle

Antonyms

big old much

Rhymes With

it'll brittle acquittal belittle whittle non-committal committal tittle spittle kittel noncommittal skittle

Questions

How do you pronounce little?: The recorded pronunciation is [ˈlɪ.ɾɫ̩].
What does little mean?: Small, not large, limited, particularly
Where does little come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce little

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “little”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([ˈlɪ.ɾɫ̩]) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “little”.
Repeat and practice — Say “little” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.