Where does “littles” come from?

littles (English) comes from English little, from Middle English litel, from Old English lȳtel, from Proto-West Germanic lūtil, from Proto-Germanic lūtilaz, from Proto-Germanic burgz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰr̥ǵʰ-.

littles (English): plural of little

Definitions

  1. plural of little

Ancestry of “littles”, step by step

littles traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English little

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlittleSmall in size; Insignificant, trivial; Very young
2Middle Englishlitellittle
3Old Englishlȳtellittle
4Proto-West Germaniclūtilbent; tending to stoop; crouching
5Proto-Germaniclūtilazbent; tending to stoop; crouching; little
6Proto-Germanicburgzfortification, stronghold; city
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰr̥ǵʰ-

via English S

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSThe ordinal number nineteenth, derived from this...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰr̥ǵʰ-Every word from Proto-Germanic burgzEvery word from Proto-Germanic lūtilaz