lítill

From Old Norse lítill, from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz. Cognate with Faroese lítil, Danish liden, Norwegian liten, Swedish liten, Elfdalian litn.

• IPA^(key): /ˈliːtɪtl/

  Rhymes: -iːtɪtl

lítill (comparative minni or (when functioning as a noun) minnu, superlative minnstur)

1. short, small
2. little, insignificant

From Proto-Germanic *lītilaz (“small, little, few”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils). The comparative and superlative degrees are from Proto-Germanic *minnizô and *minnistaz respectively, ultimately being degrees of Proto-Indo-European *minu- (“small”), but are already inflections of *lītilaz at the Proto-Germanic stage.

lítill (comparative minni, superlative minnstr)

1. little, small, short

   Antonym: mikill

This word has a suppletive inflection, using another root in the comparative and superlative forms, than in the positive form. Before the consonant cluster found in the contracted forms, the central vowel is shortened from í to i, so that lítlir > litlir. Note also the unexpected -nn ending in the masculine accusative singular form (lítinn instead of litlan), and the -t ending in the nominative and accusative singular neuter forms (lítit instead of lítilt).

• Icelandic: lítill
• Faroese: lítil
• Norn: litel
• Norwegian Nynorsk: liten
• Elfdalian: litn
• Old Swedish: lītil, lītin
  • Swedish: lilla, liten
• Danish: lille, liden
  • Norwegian Bokmål: liten