Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Few"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Few \Few\ (f[=u]), a. [Compar. {Fewer}; superl. {Fewest}.] [OE.
fewe, feawe, AS. fe['a], pl. fe['a]we; akin to OS. f[=a]h,
OHG. f[=o] fao, Icel. f[=a]r, Sw. f[*a], pl., Dan. faa, pl.,
Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. pay^ros. Cf. {Paucity}.]
Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; --
indicating a small portion of units or individuals
constituing a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few
people. ``Are not my days few?'' --Job x. 20.

Few know and fewer care. --Proverb.

Note: Few is often used partitively; as, few of them.

{A few}, a small number.

{In few}, in a few words; briefly. --Shak.

{No few}, not few; more than a few; many. --Cowper.

{The few}, the minority; -- opposed to the many or the
majority.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

few
adj : (quantifier used with count nouns; often preceded by `a') a
small number; "a few weeks ago"; "a few more wagons
than usual"; "an invalid's pleasures are few and far
between"; "few roses were still blooming"; "few women
have led troops in battle" [ant: {many}]
n 1: an indefinite but relatively small number; "they bought a
case of beer and drank a few"
2: a small elite group; "it was designed for the discriminating
few"


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