I. ˈfyü pronoun, plural in construction
Etymology: Middle English fewe, pron. & adjective, from Old English fēawa, fēa; akin to Old High German fao, fō, fōh little, Old Norse fār little, taciturn, Gothic fawai few, Latin paucus little, pauper poor, Greek pauros small, slight, paid-, pais child, Sanskrit putra son, child
: not many persons or things
many are called but few are chosen — Mt 22:14 (Revised Standard Version)
few of the statements are true
II. adjective
( fewer ˈfyüə(r); -u̇(ə)r, -u̇ə ; fewest -üə̇st)
Etymology: Middle English fewe
1. : consisting of or amounting to a small number : not many
one of his few pleasures
has relatively few friends
less construction means fewer jobs
holidays were few and far between
was applauded by the few people present
2. : some at least : not many but some — used with a preceding a to designate being some rather than none
caught a few fish
leave a few flowers for the next person
— see a II 1
3. dialect : little
a piece of salt jowl meat and a few syrup — G.S.Perry
III. noun, plural in construction
Etymology: Middle English fewe, from fewe, pron. & adjective
1. : a small number of units or individuals — used with preceding a
sold a few of the old books
a few of the soldiers were wounded
2. : a special limited number : minority — used with preceding the
a society based on privileges for the few
a car built for the discriminating few
3. : an indefinite but not very large number of drinks — used with preceding a
went into a crummy-looking beer joint and had a few — Len Zinberg
•
- a few
- a good few
- in few
- not a few
- quite a few
IV.
variant of feu