# little

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈlɪ.tl̩/ · frequency rank #173

## Definitions
1. Small in size.
2. Small in size.
3. Insignificant, trivial.
4. Insignificant, trivial.
5. Very young, of childhood age.
6. Younger.
7. Used with the name of a place, especially of a country or its capital, to denote a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place.
8. Used with the name of a place, especially of a country or its capital, to denote a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place.
9. Having few members.
10. Operating on a small scale.
11. Short in duration; brief.
12. Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow, shallow, contracted; mean, illiberal, ungenerous.

## Etymology
From Middle English litel, from Old English lyttel, lȳtel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil, from Proto-Germanic *lūtilaz (“tending to stoop, crouched, little”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, bent, small”), equivalent to lout + -le.
Cognate with Dutch luttel, regional German lütt and lützel, Saterland Frisian litje, West Frisian lyts, Low German lütt, lüttje. Related also to Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend low”); and perhaps to Old English lytiġ (“deceitful”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍄𐍃 (liuts, “deceitful”); compare also Icelandic lítill (“little”), Faroese lítil, Swedish liten, Danish liden, lille, Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils), which appear to have a different root vowel. More at lout.

## Easily confused with
- **lotte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/little-vs-lotte)
- **Lottie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/little-vs-lottie)
- **littlest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/little-vs-littlest)
- **lite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lite-vs-little)
- **litre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litre-vs-little)
- **latte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/latte-vs-little)
- **Lille** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lille-vs-little)
- **lisle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lisle-vs-little)
- **liable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liable-vs-little)
- **litter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litter-vs-little)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ilttle`, `litle`, `litlte`, `littel`, `littlle`, `llittle`, `ltitle`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/little