Where does “small” come from?
Small comes from Middle English smal, from Old English smæl, from Proto-Germanic smalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)mel-.
small (English): Not large or big; insignificant; few in number;...
Definitions
- Not large or big; insignificant; few in number;...
Ancestry of “small”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | smal | Small, miniscule; Little, few, scarce; Ground... |
| 2 | Old English | smæl | narrow, slim; not broad; slender; not thick;... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | smal | small |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | smalaz | small |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mal- | small; little |
Words derived from “small”