different between little vs light

English

Etymology

From Middle English litel, from Old English l?tel, from Proto-Germanic *l?tilaz (“tending to stoop, crouched, little”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, bent, small”), equivalent to lout +? -le. Cognate with Dutch luttel, regional German lütt and lützel, West Frisian lyts, Low German lütt, Old High German luzzil, Middle High German lützel, Old English l?tan (“to bow, bend low”); and perhaps to Old English lytig (“deceitful, lot deceit”), Gothic ???????????????????? (liuts, “deceitful”), ???????????????????????? (lutjan, “to deceive”); compare also Icelandic lítill (“little”), Swedish liten, Danish liden, lille, Gothic ???????????????????????????? (leitils), which appear to have a different root vowel. More at lout.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?l?t?l/, [?l?tl?], [?l?.t???]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?l?tl?/, [?l?.???], [???.??]
• (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /?l?tl?/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?l?.???/
• Rhymes: -?t?l
• Hyphenation: lit?tle
• Homophone: Littell

Adjective

little (comparative less or lesser or littler, superlative least or littlest)

1. Small in size.

2. Insignificant, trivial.
   1. (offensive) Used to belittle a person.

3. Very young.

4. (of a sibling) Younger.

5. (also Little) Used with the name of a place, especially of a country or its capital, to denote a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place.
   • 1871 October 18, The One-eyed Philosopher [pseudonym], "Street Corners", in Judy: or the London serio-comic journal, volume 9, page 255 [1]:

     If you want to find Little France, take any turning on the north side of Leicester square, and wander in a zigzag fashion Oxford Streetwards. The Little is rather smokier and more squalid than the Great France upon the other side of the Manche.

   • 2004, Barry Miles, Zappa: A Biography, 2005 edition, ?ISBN, page 5:

     In the forties, hurdy-gurdy men could still be heard in all those East Coast cities with strong Italian neighbourhoods: New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston. A visit to Baltimore's Little Italy at that time was like a trip to Italy itself.

   • 2020, Richa Bhosale, "Croatian Hall in need of repairs to remain open," Timmins Daily Press:

     "The theatre was bought by the Croatian immigrants as so many immigrants came here in the ’30s and mostly for mining jobs, but in Schumacher itself it was called little Zagreb, and Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia. There were so many of them that they wanted to have their own little community, so they bought the theatre and they renovated it at that time, remodelled it and made it into a Croatian Hall," she explained.

6. Having few members.

7. Short in duration; brief.

   I feel better after my little sleep.

8. Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow; contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous.

   • The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise, / Because their natures are little.

   • 2001, Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis, The Unknown Callas: the Greek Years, pg 547.

     Showing unmistakably what a little person he really was, in June 1949 he wrote his newly married daughter with nauseating disregard for the truth

Usage notes

Some authorities regard both littler and littlest as non-standard. The OED says of the word little: "the adjective has no recognized mode of comparison. The difficulty is commonly evaded by resort to a synonym (as smaller, smallest); some writers have ventured to employ the unrecognized forms littler, littlest, which are otherwise confined to dialect or imitations of childish or illiterate speech." The forms lesser and least are encountered in animal names such as lesser flamingo and least weasel.

Antonyms

• (small): large, big
• (young): big
• (younger): big

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

little (comparative less or lesser, superlative least)

1. Not much.

   We slept very little last night.

   • Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy […] distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its savour.

2. Not at all.

Antonyms

• much

Translations

Determiner

little (comparative less, superlative least)

1. Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of).

   There is (very) little water left.

   We had very little to do.

Usage notes

• Little is used with uncountable nouns, few with plural countable nouns.
• Little can be used with or without an article. With the indefinite article, the emphasis is that there is indeed some, albeit not much:

We have a little money, so we'll probably get by.

With no article or the definite article (or what), the emphasis is on the scarcity:

We have little money, and little hope of getting more.

The little (or What little) money we have is all going to pay for food and medication, so we can't save any.

See also

• a little

Antonyms

• (not much): much

Translations

Pronoun

little

1. Not much; not a large amount.

   Little is known about his early life.

Noun

little (plural littles)

1. A small amount.

   Can I try a little of that sauce?

   Many littles make a mickle. (Scottish proverb)

   Little did he do to make me comfortable.

   If you want some cake, there's a little in the refrigerator

2. (BDSM, slang) The participant in ageplay who acts out the younger role.
3. (colloquial, college slang) A newly initiated member of a sorority.

Antonyms

• (BDSM): big

Derived terms

• little space

Related terms

• a little
• li'l, li'l', lil
• little by little
• little old
• belittle (cognate verb)

Anagrams

• tillet

English

Alternative forms

• lite (informal or archaic); lighte, lyght, lyghte (obsolete)
• licht (Scotland)

Pronunciation

• enPR: l?t, IPA^(key): /la?t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): [?????]
• (Canada, regional US) IPA^(key): /l??t/
• Rhymes: -a?t
• Homophone: lite
• Hyphenation: light

Etymology 1

From Middle English light, liht, leoht, from Old English l?oht, from Proto-Germanic *leuht?, from Proto-Indo-European *lewktom, from the root *lewk- (“light”). Cognate with Scots licht (“light”), West Frisian ljocht (“light”), Dutch licht (“light”), Low German licht (“light”), German Licht (“light”). Related also to Swedish ljus (“light”), Icelandic ljós (“light”), Latin l?x (“light”), Russian ??? (lu?, “beam of light”), Armenian ????? (luys, “light”), Ancient Greek ?????? (leukós, “white”), and Persian ????? (roxš).

Noun

light (countable and uncountable, plural lights)

1. (physics, uncountable) Visible electromagnetic radiation. The human eye can typically detect radiation (light) in the wavelength range of about 400 to 750 nanometers. Nearby shorter and longer wavelength ranges, although not visible, are commonly called ultraviolet and infrared light.
   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     When the studio light is on, I am recording my evening show.

2. A source of illumination.
3. Spiritual or mental illumination; enlightenment, useful information.
4. (in the plural, now rare) Facts; pieces of information; ideas, concepts.
   • , Book I, New York 2001, page 166:

     Now these notions are twofold, actions or habits […], which are durable lights and notions, which we may use when we will.

5. A notable person within a specific field or discipline.
   • ?, Alfred Tennyson, A Dream of Fair Women

     Joan of Arc, a light of ancient France

6. (painting) The manner in which the light strikes a picture; that part of a picture which represents those objects upon which the light is supposed to fall; the more illuminated part of a landscape or other scene; opposed to shade.
7. A point of view, or aspect from which a concept, person or thing is regarded.
   • , "Why Christ's Doctrine was Rejected by the Jews"

     Frequent consideration of a thing […] shows it in its several lights and various ways of appearance.

   • Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it was that they did not want Jones back. When it was put to them in this light, they had no more to say.

8. A flame or something used to create fire.
9. A firework made by filling a case with a substance which burns brilliantly with a white or coloured flame.

   a Bengal light

10. A window, or space for a window in architecture.

11. The series of squares reserved for the answer to a crossword clue.

12. (informal) A cross-light in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.
13. Open view; a visible state or condition; public observation; publicity.
14. The power of perception by vision.
15. The brightness of the eye or eyes.
16. A traffic light, or, by extension, an intersection controlled by one or more that will face a traveler who is receiving instructions.

Synonyms

• (electromagnetic wave perceived by the eye): visible light
• See also Thesaurus:light source

Hypernyms

• (physics): electromagnetic radiation

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• ? Gulf Arabic: ???? (l?t)
• ? Farefare: laat?
• Sranan Tongo: leti

Translations

See light/translations § Noun.

References

• light on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

From Middle English lighten, lihten, from Old English l?htan, l?htan, l?ohtan (“to lighten, illuminate, give light, shine; grow light, dawn; light, kindle”), from Proto-Germanic *liuhtijan?, from *leuht? +? *-jan?. Cognate with German leuchten (“to shine”).

Verb

light (third-person singular simple present lights, present participle lighting, simple past and past participle lit or lighted)

1. (transitive) To start (a fire).

   Synonym: set

   Antonyms: extinguish, put out, quench

   We lit the fire to get some heat.

2. (transitive) To set fire to; to set burning.

   Synonyms: ignite, kindle, conflagrate

   Antonyms: extinguish, put out, quench

   She lit her last match.

   • 1627, George Hakewill, Apologie […] of the Power and Providence of God

     if a thousand candles be all lighted from one

3. (transitive) To illuminate; to provide light for when it is dark.

   Synonyms: illuminate, light up

   I used my torch to light the way home through the woods in the night.

   • 19th century', Frederic Harrison, The Fortnightly Review

     One hundred years ago, to have lit this theatre as brilliantly as it is now lighted would have cost, I suppose, fifty pounds.

   • The Sun has set, and Vesper, to supply / His absent beams, had lighted up the sky.
4. (intransitive) To become ignited; to take fire.

   Synonyms: catch fire, ignite, conflagrate

   This soggy match will not light.

5. To attend or conduct with a light; to show the way to by means of a light.
   • 1824, Walter Savage Landor, Imaginary Conversations, Richard I and the Abbot of Boxley

     His bishops lead him forth, and light him on.

6. (transitive, pinball) To make (a bonus) available to be collected by hitting a target, and thus light up the feature light corresponding to that bonus to indicate its availability.

   Light the extra ball by amassing 500 million points in the wizard mode.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English light, liht, leoht, from Old English l?oht (“luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent, renowned, beautiful”), from Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz (“light”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian ljoacht (“light”), Dutch licht, German licht.

Adjective

light (comparative lighter, superlative lightest)

1. Having light; bright; clear; not dark or obscure.

2. Pale or whitish in color; highly luminous and more or less deficient in chroma.

3. (of coffee) Served with extra milk or cream.

Synonyms

• (having light): bright, lightful
• (pale in colour): pale
• (coffee: served with extra milk or cream): white, with milk, with cream

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 4

From Old English l?oht, l?ht, from Proto-West Germanic *l??ht, from Proto-Germanic *linhtaz or *l?htaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h?leng??- (“light”).

Cognate with Dutch licht, German leicht, Swedish lätt, Norwegian lett, Albanian lehtë, Latin levis, Russian ?????? (ljóxkij), Lithuanian lengvas, Sanskrit ??? (laghu).

Adjective

light (comparative lighter, superlative lightest)

1. Having little or relatively little actual weight; not cumbrous or unwieldy.

   • These weights did not exert their natural gravity […] insomuch that I could not guess which was light or heavy whilst I held them in my hand.

2. Having little weight as compared with bulk; of little density or specific gravity.

3. Of short or insufficient weight; weighing less than the legal, standard, or proper amount; clipped or diminished.

4. Lacking that which burdens or makes heavy.
   1. Free from burden or impediment; unencumbered.
   2. Lightly built; typically designed for speed or small loads.

   3. (military) Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons.

   4. (nautical, of a ship) Riding high because of no cargo; by extension, pertaining to a ship which is light.

   5. (rail transport, of a locomotive or consist of locomotives) Without any piece of equipment attached or attached only to a caboose.

   6. With low viscosity
5. (cooking) Not heavy or soggy; spongy; well raised.

7. Gentle; having little force or momentum.

   This artist clearly had a light, flowing touch.

8. Easy to endure or perform.

   light duties around the house

   • Light sufferings give us leisure to complain.

9. Low in fat, calories, alcohol, salt, etc.

   This light beer still gets you drunk if you have enough of it.

10. Unimportant, trivial, having little value or significance.

    I made some light comment, and we moved on.

11. (obsolete) Unchaste, wanton.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i:

      Long after lay he musing at her mood, / Much grieu'd to thinke that gentle Dame so light, / For whose defence he was to shed his blood.
12. Not encumbered; unembarrassed; clear of impediments; hence, active; nimble; swift.
    • 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Marriage and Single Life

      Unmarried men are best friends, best masters […] but not always best subjects, for they are light to run away.

13. (dated) Easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled; volatile.

    a light, vain person; a light mind

    • 1633, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of being Religious

      There is no greater argument of a light and inconsiderate person than profanely to scoff at religion.

14. Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; lacking dignity or solemnity; frivolous; airy.

    Ogden Nash was a writer of light verse.

    • 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Old News

      specimens of New England humour laboriously light and lamentably mirthful

15. Not quite sound or normal; somewhat impaired or deranged; dizzy; giddy.
16. Easily interrupted by stimulation.

    light sleep; light anesthesia

Synonyms

• (of little weight):
• (lightly-built): lightweight
• (having little force or momentum): delicate, gentle, soft
• (low in fat, calories, etc): lite, lo-cal (low in calories), low-alcohol (low in alcohol)
• (having little value or significance): inconsequential, trivial, unimportant

Antonyms

• (of little weight): heavy, weighty, burdensome
• (lightly-built): cumbersome, heavyweight, massive
• (having little force or momentum): forceful, heavy, strong
• (low in fat, calories, etc): calorific (high in calories), fatty (high in fat), strong (high in alcohol)
• (having little value or significance): crucial, important, weighty

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

light (comparative lighter, superlative lightest)

1. Carrying little.

Derived terms

• travel light

Related terms

Translations

Noun

light (plural lights)

1. (curling) A stone that is not thrown hard enough.
2. See lights (“lungs”).

Verb

light (third-person singular simple present lights, present participle lighting, simple past and past participle lighted)

1. (nautical) To unload a ship, or to jettison material to make it lighter
2. To lighten; to ease of a burden; to take off.

Derived terms

• lighter

Translations

Etymology 5

Old English l?htan

Verb

light (third-person singular simple present lights, present participle lighting, simple past and past participle lit or lighted)

1. To find by chance.

   I lit upon a rare book in a second-hand bookseller's.

2. To stop upon (of eyes or a glance); to notice
   • 1903, Jack London, The Call of the Wild

     "Sacredam!" he cried, when his eyes lit upon Buck.

3. (archaic) To alight; to land or come down.

   She fell out of the window but luckily lit on her feet.

   • 1769, Benjamin Blayney (Ed.), King James Bible (Genesis 25:64)

     And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

   • 1885, Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman

     Some kinds of ducks in lighting strike the water with their tails first, and skitter along the surface for a few feet before settling down.

   • 1957, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), The Cat in the Hat

     And our fish came down, too. He fell into a pot! He said, "Do I like this? Oh, no! I do not. This is not a good game," Said our fish as he lit.

Synonyms

• (find by chance): chance upon, come upon, find, happen upon, hit upon
• (alight): alight, land

Derived terms

Translations

French

Etymology

From English light

Adjective

light (invariable)

1. light, slight
2. (of food) diet, low-fat, fat-free, light

Middle English

Alternative forms

• lighte, lyght, lyghte, li?t, li?te, ly?t, ly?te, lij?t, li?ht, ly?ht, ly?hte, li?th, ly?th, ligt, lygtte, ligth, liht, lihte, lyht, lyhte, lith, lithe, lyth, lythe, litht, lite, lyte, lit, lytte, lichte, lict, licth, liste, leoht, leocht, loht

Etymology

From Old English l?oht (“light, daylight; power of vision; luminary; world”), from Proto-West Germanic *leuht, from Proto-Germanic *leuht? (“light”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewktom, from the root *lewk- (“light”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lixt/
• Rhymes: -ixt

Noun

light (plural lightes)

1. The radiation which allows for vision by brightening objects and colours.
2. Illumination in general, or any source thereof.
3. The metaphorical clarity resulting from philosophical or religious ideals such as truth, wisdom, righteousness, etc.
4. Mental or spiritual acuity; the presence of life in a living being.
5. (chemistry) The property of lustre; how shiny a substance is.
6. (religion) Heavenly radiance; glory
7. (architecture) an opening in a wall allowing for the transmission of light; a window.
8. The sense of sight.
9. The state of being easily seen.

Descendants

• English: light
• Scots: licht

References

• “light, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English light. Doublet of leve, léu and ligeiro.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /?lajt??/

Adjective

light (invariable, comparable)

1. (of food) light (low in fat, calories, alcohol, salt or other undesirable substances)

Spanish

Etymology

From English light.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lait/, [?lai?t?]

Adjective

light (invariable)

1. light (low in fat, calories, salt, alcohol, etc.)
2. (of cigarettes) light (low in tar, nicotine and other noxious chemicals)
3. (by extension) Lacking substance or seriousness; lite

Usage notes

• As a foreign term with unassimilated spelling and pronunciation, light is usually rendered in italics in formal contexts or published writings.

References

• “light” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.