English
small
Small comes from Middle English smal ‘small, minuscule’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *smalaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smalazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smalreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150smæl‘narrow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smal‘small’
- Englishearliest quotation 1594small
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smalazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smalreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150smæl‘narrow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smal‘small’
- Englishearliest quotation 1594small
Earliest quotation: 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto): “It small avails my mood.”
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *smalaz
Today it means
adj Not large or big; insignificant; few in number.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *smalaz / small