(a) Of little size, physically small, diminutive; also fig. [quots. c1230, c1395]; also, by comparison with another of the same kind: smaller [quots. c1390, c1400 Apoc.(2)]; ~ busshel, ?a bushel measure not heaped up; ~ chekered, having small squares; ~ morel, ? = litel (peti) morel [s.v. litel adj. 5.(d) & morel n.(1) (b)]; (b) small in area; of a stream or river: small in volume; ~ toun (thorp, etc.); smaler inde, = inde the lesse, the southern part of the Indian peninsula; (c) not fully developed, young; (d) of little length; ~ rib, a false rib; (e) in proverbs.

(a) Little in amount or intensity, scant; ?also, weak [quot. c1484]; also, of fractions: tiny; (b) not numerous, few in number; (c) of brief duration; also, of short distance, of short range.

(a) Thin; narrow; ~ biforen (ended), pointed; ~ ende, the lower, pointed, end (of a shield); ~ sharpe, ?thin nails; (b) of a person, an animal, a part of the body: slim, slender, gracefully formed; also, skinny, emaciated [quots. a1400, a1500 7 Sages(1)]; ~ moseled, slender-snouted; (c) anat. thin, narrow; ~ boueles (guttes, ropes), part of the small intestine; ~ skin, a membrane; ~ weie, an artery.

(a) Consisting of minute particles, finely ground, fine; ~ whit, a fine white bread; (b) of food: of light texture, easily digested; ~ diete, a light diet calculated to purge viscous humors; ~ rost, a roast of light meat, lamb, fowl, etc.; (c) of liquid: not viscous, thin; of beer, wine: light, weak; of air, vapor: not dense, thin; (d) of cloth, clothing, wool: fine in texture, light, delicate; also, of grass, thatching material: fine, not coarse; also, fig. of an argument: subtle; (e) having a small mesh; (f) of a voice, sound: of little resonance, thin, feeble; also, soft, gentle; also, of a voice: high-pitched, treble [quot. Chaucer CT.Prol., perh. others, e.g., Chaucer CT.Mil., Sloane SSecr., Yonge SSecr.].

(a) Of low estate, common; ~ and gret, gret and (ne) ~, everyone (nobody); ~ degre, low rank; ~ harpere, a less famous harper; ~ king, a petty king; ~ mol man, a lesser tenant; ~ prophete, one of the minor prophets; (b) unimportant, slight, trivial; of sin: venial; of learning: elementary; of an expletive: petty; ~ dai, a session of a minor court, ?one not held by a judge; ~ harlot, a petty criminal; ~ wordes, wordes ~, trivial words; also, simple language [quot. a1325]; gret and (or) ~; (c) ~ houres, eccl. the little, or minor, canonical hours.

Of little value; of wages: low; ~ coin (gold, silver), coins (of gold or silver) of small denomination; ~ tithe, a tithe other than the praedial tithe of annual crops; also, a purported tithe of less value than it should be; ~ tithere, one who pays less than a full tithe; ~ valeu (valor), little monetary value.

As noun; -- often coll.: (a) something of small size; a point on a pillar; small wounds; ~ of the leg, the thin part of the leg between the calf and the ankle; in ~, in small pieces; (b) little ones, children; also, fig. the unlearned; (c) a person of short stature; also, a tree of little height; for ~, on account of tininess; (d) not much, a little; a small quantity, small amount; also, few [2nd quot.]; but ~; in ~, in small quantities, retail; (e) a person of low degree or importance; also, an immoral or a contemptible person [last quot.]; ~ man, a minor landholder or tenant; gret and ~, everyone; (f) an unimportant act or thing; something of less importance or value; a venial sin; a less important legend; -- also coll. & pl.; in ~, in detail; with gret and ~, completely, entirely; (g) in proverbs and prov. expression.

(a) In surnames; (b) in place names [see Smith PNElem.26.130].