Etymograph

English

little

Little comes from Old English lȳtel ‘small, little’, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil ‘bent, stooping; little’, from *lūtan ‘to bow down’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- ‘to bend, crouch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewd-‘to bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lūtaną‘to bow down’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lūtan‘to bow down’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*lūtilreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lȳtel‘small’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litel
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1850little

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewd-‘to bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lūtaną‘to bow down’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lūtan‘to bow down’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*lūtilreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lȳtel‘small’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litel
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1850little

Earliest quotation: 1850, [Alfred, Canto XXXVII: “Urania speaks with darken’d brow: ⁠‘Thou pratest here where…”

Formed from lout + -le

Middle English louten ‘to bow, bend low, stoop over’

English lout

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lewd- ‘to bend, crouch, duck’

lit

through Proto-West Germanic *lūtan ‘to bow down, lout’

lout

Today it means

adj Small, not large, limited, particularly

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewd- / little

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