few

det

Etymology: 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.

1. An indefinite, but usually small, number of.

   “There are a few cars (=some, but a relatively small number) in the street.”

   “Quite a few people (=a significant number) were pleasantly surprised.”

2. Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.

   “Very few did she have not to go there, did she?”

   “I was expecting a big crowd at the party, but very few people (=almost none) turned up.”

3. Obscuring one to two oktas (eighths) of the sky.

   “Tonight: A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness overnight.”

   “NOAA definition of the term few clouds: An official sky cover classification for aviation weather observations, descriptive of a sky cover of 1/8 to 2/8. This is applied only when obscuring phenomena aloft are present--that is, not when obscuring phenomena are surface-based, such as fog.”

4. (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.

name

1. A surname.

pron

Etymology: 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.

1. Few people, few things.

   “Many are called, but few are chosen.”