few
Meanings
Noun
- a small elite group
- "it was designed for the discriminating few"
Adjective
- 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's pleasures are few and far between"
- "few roses were still blooming"
- "few women have led troops in battle"
Det
- An indefinite, but usually small, number of.
- Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.
- Obscuring one to two oktas (eighths) of the sky.
- (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.
Pron
- Few people, few things.
Origin / 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.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 9
few is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordfew is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
few is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 9
few is a valid Words With Friends word