*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of small

From Middle English smal, smale, small, smalle, smel, smæl, from Old English smæl (“narrow, slim; slender; fine; small; quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *smal, from Proto-Germanic *smalaz (“small”), from Proto-Indo-Euro

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To make little or less. · To become small; to dwindle.

noun

One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, smaller than a medium. · An item labelled or denoted as being that size. · One who fits an item of that size. · Any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back.

adj

Not large or big; insignificant; few in number. · Humiliated or insignificant. · Having a small penis, muscles, or other important body parts, regardless of overall body size. · Young, as a child.

adv

In a small fashion · In or into small pieces. · To a small extent. · In a low tone; softly.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English smal, smale, small, smalle, smel, smæl, from Old English smæl (“narrow, slim; slender; fine; small; quiet”), from Proto-West Germanic *smal, from Proto-Germanic *smalaz (“small”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mal- (“small; little”). Cognates Cognate with Scots smaw (“small; minor”), Yola smaale, small (“small”), North Frisian smaal, smeel, smääl (“narrow”), Saterland Frisian smäl (“narrow”), West Frisian smel (“narrow”), Alemannic German schmaal (“narrow”), Bavarian schmoi (“narrow; slender”), Dutch smal (“narrow; small”), German schmal (“narrow; slender”), Low German small (“narrow; slender, small”), Luxembourgish schmuel (“narrow”), Vilamovian śmoł, šmoł (“narrow”), Yiddish שמאָל (shmol, “narrow”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish smal (“narrow; slim”), Gothic 𐍃𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (smalists, “smallest”); also Latin malus (“bad, distressing, nasty; evil, mischievous, wicked; destructive, hurtful, noxious; abusive, hostile, unkind”), Belarusian малы́ (malý, “small”), Bulgarian and Macedonian мал (mal, “small; minor”), Czech and Slovak malý (“small”), Polish mały (“small; little; humble; short”), Russian ма́лый (mályj, “small; short”), Serbo-Croatian ма̑л, mȃl (“small”), Ukrainian мали́й (malýj, “small”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionsmalenm
  • Inherited-form mentionsmælang · narrow, slim; slender; fine; small; quiet
  • Inherited-form mention*smalgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*smalazgem-pro · small
  • Derivation mention*(s)mal-ine-pro · small; little
  • Cognate mentionsmawsco · small; minor
  • Cognate mentionsmaaleyol
  • Cognate mentionsmaalfrr
  • Cognate mentionsmälstq · narrow
  • Cognate mentionsmelfy · narrow
  • Cognate mentionschmaalgsw · narrow
  • Cognate mentionschmoibar · narrow; slender
  • Cognate mentionsmalnl · narrow; small
  • Cognate mentionschmalde · narrow; slender
  • Cognate mentionsmallnds · narrow; slender, small
  • Cognate mentionschmuellb · narrow
  • Cognate mentionśmołwym
  • Cognate mentionשמאָלyi · narrow
  • Cognate mention𐍃𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃got · smallest
  • Cognate mentionmalusla · bad, distressing, nasty; evil, mischievous, wicked; destructive, hurtful, noxious; abusive, hostile, unkind
  • Cognate mentionмалы́be · small
  • Cognate mentionmałypl · small; little; humble; short
  • Cognate mentionма́лыйru · small; short
  • Cognate mentionма̑лsh
  • Cognate mentionмали́йuk · small

This page abbreviates 6 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "smal"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English smal"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "smæl",
        "t": "narrow, slim; slender; fine; small; quiet"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English smæl (“narrow, slim; slender; fine; small; quiet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*smal"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *smal"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*smalaz",
        "t": "small"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *smalaz (“small”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*(s)mal-",
        "t": "small; little"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *(s)mal- (“small; little”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "smaw",
        "t": "small; minor"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots smaw (“small; minor”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "smaale"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola smaale"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "smaal"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian smaal"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "smäl",
        "t": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian smäl (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "smel",
        "t": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian smel (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gsw",
        "2": "schmaal",
        "t": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German schmaal (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "schmoi",
        "t": "narrow; slender"
      },
      "expansion": "Bavarian schmoi (“narrow; slender”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "smal",
        "t": "narrow; small"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch smal (“narrow; small”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "schmal",
        "t": "narrow; slender"
      },
      "expansion": "German schmal (“narrow; slender”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "small",
        "t": "narrow; slender, small"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German small (“narrow; slender, small”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "schmuel",
        "t": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish schmuel (“narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "śmoł"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian śmoł"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "שמאָל",
        "t": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish שמאָל (shmol, “narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb,nn,sv",
        "2": "smal",
        "t": "narrow; slim"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish smal (“narrow; slim”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍃𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃",
        "t": "smallest"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍃𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (smalists, “smallest”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "malus",
        "t": "bad, distressing, nasty; evil, mischievous, wicked; destructive, hurtful, noxious; abusive, hostile, unkind"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin malus (“bad, distressing, nasty; evil, mischievous, wicked; destructive, hurtful, noxious; abusive, hostile, unkind”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "be",
        "2": "малы́",
        "t": "small"
      },
      "expansion": "Belarusian малы́ (malý, “small”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bg,mk",
        "2": "мал",
        "t": "small; minor"
      },
      "expansion": "Bulgarian and Macedonian мал (mal, “small; minor”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs,sk",
        "2": "malý",
        "t": "small"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech and Slovak malý (“small”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "mały",
        "t": "small; little; humble; short"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish mały (“small; little; humble; short”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "ма́лый",
        "t": "small; short"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian ма́лый (mályj, “small; short”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "ма̑л"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian ма̑л"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "uk",
        "2": "мали́й",
        "t": "small"
      },
      "expansion": "Ukrainian мали́й (malýj, “small”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "smal",
      "smal#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "smale",
      "smale#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "small",
      "small#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "smalle",
      "smalle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "smel",
      "smel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "smæl",
      "smæl#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "smæl",
      "smæl#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*smal",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/smal"
    ],
    [
      "*smalaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/smalaz"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)mal-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)mal-"
    ],
    [
      "smaw",
      "smaw#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "smaale",
      "smaale#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "small",
      "small#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "smaal",
      "smaal#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "smeel",
      "smeel#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "smääl",
      "smääl#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "smäl",
      "smäl#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "smel",
      "smel#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "schmaal",
      "schmaal#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "schmoi",
      "schmoi#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "smal",
      "smal#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "schmal",
      "schmal#German"
    ],
    [
      "small",
      "small#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "schmuel",
      "schmuel#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "śmoł",
      "śmoł#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "šmoł",
      "šmoł#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "שמאָל",
      "שמאָל#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "smal#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "smal#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "smal#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "smal",
      "smal#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "𐍃𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃",
      "𐍃𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "malus",
      "malus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "малы́",
      "малы#Belarusian"
    ],
    [
      "Bulgarian",
      "мал#Bulgarian"
    ],
    [
      "мал",
      "мал#Macedonian"
    ],
    [
      "Czech",
      "malý#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "malý",
      "malý#Slovak"
    ],
    [
      "mały",
      "mały#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "ма́лый",
      "малый#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "ма̑л",
      "мал#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "mȃl",
      "mal#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "мали́й",
      "малий#Ukrainian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make little or less.",
        "To become small; to dwindle."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "noun-from-verb",
        "obsolete",
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
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    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, smaller than a medium.",
        "An item labelled or denoted as being that size.",
        "One who fits an item of that size.",
        "Any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "especially",
        "noun-from-verb",
        "uncountable",
        "countable",
        "rare"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 13471
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Not large or big; insignificant; few in number.",
        "Humiliated or insignificant.",
        "Having a small penis, muscles, or other important body parts, regardless of overall body size.",
        "Young, as a child."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "not-comparable"
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 13469
    },
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "In a small fashion",
        "In or into small pieces.",
        "To a small extent.",
        "In a low tone; softly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 6,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for small →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c21hbGw