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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Few \Few\ (f[=u]), adjective [Compar. {Fewer} (f[=u]"[~e]r); superl. {Fewest}.] [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. fe['a], pl. fe['a]we; akin to OS. f[=a]h, OHG. f[=o] fao, Icel. f[=a]r, Sw. f[*a], pl., Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. pay^ros. Cf. {Paucity}.] Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; -- indicating a small portion of units or individuals constituting a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few people. ''Are not my days few?'' --Job x. 20.
Few know and fewer care. --Proverb.
Note: Few is often used partitively; as, few of them.
{A few}, a small number.
{In few}, in a few words; briefly. --Shak.
{No few}, not few; more than a few; many. --Cowper.
{The few}, the minority; -- opposed to the many or the majority.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
fewer
adjective: (comparative of 'few' used with count nouns) quantifier meaning a smaller number of; "fewer birds came this year"; "the birds are fewer this year"; "fewer trains were late" [ant: {more(a)}]
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |