liten - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Inherited from Danish liden with native Norwegian -t-, from Old Norse lítill, from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz. Several forms are suppletive; see for their etymologies små, vesle, mindre.

The indefinite neuter (Danish lidet) was spelt litet in 1907; the silent consonant was later stricken (as in mye, noe). The byforms lita and vesle were introduced under influence of Nynorsk and dialectal Norwegian.

• IPA(key): /²liːtən/, [²liːtn̩]

liten (indefinite feminine **liten or lita, indefinite neuter lite or smått, definite singular lille or vesle, definite and indefinite plural små, comparative mindre, indefinite superlative minst, definite superlative minste)

1. small, little (not large)

• knøttliten

• ørliten

• “liten” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse lítinn, masculine accusative singular of lítill, from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz. Cognates include English little.

• IPA(key): /²liːtn̩/

liten (masculine **liten, feminine lita, neuter lite, definite singular litle or vesle, plural små or småe or vesle, comparative mindre, indefinite superlative minst, definite superlative minste)

1. small, little

• knøttliten
• ørliten
• IPA(key): /²liːtn̩/

liten

1. past participle of lita and lite

• IPA(key): /ˈliːtn̩/

liten m

1. definite singular of lit

lìten m

1. (non-standard since 1917) definite singular of lìt

• “liten” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

liten

1. inflection of litar:
   1. third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person plural imperative

From Old Norse lítinn, accusative of lítill, from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz.

• IPA(key): /²liːtɛn/
• Rhymes: -²iːtɛn

liten (comparative mindre, superlative minst)

1. small, little; of small size
   Men så små hennes händer är!
   Look how small her hands are!
   Varför ger du mig alltid den minsta biten?
   Why do you always give me the smallest piece?
2. (figuratively) young, as a child.
   ett litet barn ― a little child
3. (writing, not comparable) small, lowercase

• The plural is irregular små, regardless of definiteness.
• In compound words, små- is often used, as in småbarn, or småadel, or lill- as in lillfinger and lillgammal, or more rarely lille- as in lillebror or lillefar.

Inflection of liten

1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
2 Dated or archaic.
3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

• stor

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

liten

1. definite singular of lit

• “liten”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• linet