English

few

/fjuː/
An indefinite, but usually small, number of.

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    Origin

    From Middle English fewe, from Old English fēaw (“few”), from Proto-West Germanic *fau, from Proto-Germanic *fawaz (“few”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”).

    Cognate with Old Saxon fā (“few”), Old High German fao, fō (“few, little”), Old Norse fár (“few”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍃 (faus, “few”). Also related with Latin paucus (“little, few”) and pauper (“poor”), from which latter English poor and pauper; see these.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*peh₂w- “few, small”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishfewe
      • inheritedOld Englishfēaw “few”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*fau
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*fawaz “few”
      • derivedEnglishpoor “With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.”
        • inheritedMiddle Englishpovre “poor”
          • borrowedOld Frenchpovre

    Related: Old Saxon fā, Old High German fao, Old Norse fár, Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍃, Latin paucus

    Sources