li'l

See also: lil, Lil, li-l, lil', and li'l'

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Contracted from little, especially as pronounced with flapping, when the /t/ is barely audible.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [lɪɫ], [lɪ.ɫ̩]
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Adjective

li'l

  1. Pronunciation spelling of little.
    • 1898, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Folks from Dixie, page 118:
      " Go s'eepy, baby; don' you be 'Paid; mammy ain' gwine let nuffin' hu't you, even ef pappy don' wan' look at huh li'l face. Bye, bye, go s'eepy, mammy's li'l gal."
    • 2006, Cris Burks, Neecey's lullaby:
      Jesse called her his li'l cutie pie. Because she was happy to be so cute and her daddy's little girl,
  2. Generic intensifier.
    This li'l puppy is adorable!

Derived terms

Anagrams

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