English-Thai Dictionary

few

ADJ น้อย  ไม่ มาก  เกือบ ไม่มี  เล็กน้อย  hardly any not many scant many numerous noi

 

few

N จำนวน ไม่ มาก  จำนวน น้อย  jam-nuan-mai-mak

 

few

PRON จำนวน น้อย  จำนวน ไม่ มาก  เกือบ ไม่มี  นิดหน่อย  jam-nuan-noi

 

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FEW

a.[L. pauci. The senses of few and small are often united. ] Not many; small in number. Party is the madness of many for the gain of a few; but few men, in times of party, regard the maxim.

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

FEW

Few, a. [Compar. Fewer; superl. Fewest.] Etym: [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. feá, pl. feáwe; akin to OS. fah, OHG. f *, Icel. far, Sw. få, pl. , Dan. faa, pl. , Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. Paucity. ]

 

Defn: 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. 2 . 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.

 

New American Oxford Dictionary

few

few |fyo͞o fju | ▶adjective & pronoun 1 (a few ) a small number of: [ as adj. ] : may I ask a few questions? | [ as pronoun ] : I will recount a few of the stories told me | many believe it but only a few are prepared to say. 2 used to emphasize how small a number of people or things is: [ as adj. ] : he had few friends | [ as pronoun ] : few thought to challenge these assumptions | very few of the titles have any literary merit | one of the few who survived | [ comparative ] : a population of fewer than two million | [ as adj. ] : sewing was one of her few pleasures | [ superlative ] : ask which products have the fewest complaints. ▶noun (as plural noun the few ) the minority of people; the elect: a world that increasingly belongs to the few. PHRASES every few once in every small group of (typically units of time ): she visits every few weeks. few and far between scarce; infrequent: my inspired moments are few and far between. a good few Brit. a fairly large number of: it had been around for a good few years. have a few informal drink enough alcohol to be slightly drunk: I tend to keep my mouth shut, unless I've had a few. no fewer than used to emphasize a surprisingly large number: there are no fewer than seventy different brand names. not a few a considerable number: his fiction has caused not a few readers to see red. quite a few a fairly large number: quite a few people can do it. some few some but not many: some few people are born without any sense of time. ORIGIN Old English fēawe, fēawa; from an Indo-European root shared by Latin paucus and Greek pauros ‘small. ’ usage: Fewer versus less: strictly speaking, the rule is that fewer, the comparative form of few, is used with words denoting people or countable things ( fewer members; fewer books; fewer than ten contestants ). Less, on the other hand, is used with mass nouns, denoting things that cannot be counted ( less money; less music ). In addition, less is normally used with numbers ( less than 10,000 ) and with expressions of measurement or time ( less than two weeks; less than four miles away ). But to use less with count nouns, as in less people or less words, is incorrect in standard English.

 

Oxford Dictionary

few

few |fjuː | ▶determiner, pronoun, & adjective 1 (a few ) a small number of: [ as determiner ] : may I ask a few questions? | [ as pronoun ] : I will recount a few of the stories told me | there are hundreds of applicants but only a few are selected. 2 used to emphasize how small a number of people or things is: [ as determiner ] : he had few friends | [ as pronoun ] : few thought to challenge these assumptions | very few of the titles have any literary merit | a club with as few as 20 members | [ comparative ] : a population of fewer than two million | [ as adj. ] : sewing was one of her few pleasures | [ superlative ] : ask which products have the fewest complaints. ▶noun (as plural noun the few ) the minority of people; the elect: art is not just for the few. • ( the Few ) Brit. the RAF pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain. [alluding to a speech of Sir Winston Churchill (20 August, 1940 ).] PHRASES every few once in every small group of (typically units of time ): she visits every few weeks. few and far between scarce; infrequent: my inspired moments are few and far between. a good few Brit. a fairly large number of: we sat there for a good few minutes. have a few informal drink enough alcohol to be slightly drunk. no fewer than used to emphasize a surprisingly large number: there are no fewer than seventy different brand names. not a few a considerable number: virtually every soul star, and not a few blues singers, learned to sing in church. quite a few a fairly large number: quite a few people got the wrong impression. some few some but not many. ORIGIN Old English fēawe, fēawa, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German fao, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin paucus and Greek pauros ‘small ’. usage: Fewer versus less: strictly speaking, the rule is that fewer, the comparative form of few, is used with words denoting people or countable things ( fewer members; fewer books ). Less, on the other hand, is used with mass nouns, denoting things which cannot be counted ( less money; less bother ). It is regarded as incorrect in standard English to use less with count nouns, as in less people or less words, although this is one of the most widespread errors made by native speakers. It is not so obvious which word should be used with than. Less is normally used with numerals ( a score of less than 100 ) and with expressions of measurement or time ( less than two weeks; less than four miles away ), but fewer is used if the things denoted by the number are seen as individual items or units ( there were fewer than ten contestants ).

 

American Oxford Thesaurus

few

few adjective 1 police are revealing few details: not many, hardly any, scarcely any; a small number of, a small amount of, one or two, a handful of; little. ANTONYMS many. 2 comforts here are few: scarce, scant, meager, insufficient, in short supply; thin on the ground, few and far between, infrequent, uncommon, rare; negligible. ANTONYMS plentiful. ▶pronoun (a few ) there weren't many biscuits, but we saved you a few: a small number, a handful, one or two, a couple, two or three; not many, hardly any. USAGE See less . Usage notes show additional guidance on finer points of English usage.

 

Oxford Thesaurus

few

few determiner police are revealing few details about the victim: not many, hardly any, scarcely any; a small number of, a small amount of, a small quantity of, one or two, a handful of, a sprinkling of; little; informal a couple of. ANTONYMS many. ▶adjective though the car parks are few, they are strategically placed: scarce, scant, scanty, meagre, insufficient, negligible, in short supply; thin on the ground, scattered, seldom met with, few and far between, infrequent, uncommon, rare, sporadic. ANTONYMS many, plentiful. ▶pronoun PHRASES a few to a few, overcoming their fear of flying becomes a challenge: a small number, a handful, a sprinkling, one or two, a couple, two or three; not many, hardly any. ANTONYMS a lot. WORD LINKS few oligo- related prefix, as in oligarch, oligosaccharide Word Links sections supply words that are related to the headword but do not normally appear in a thesaurus because they are not actual synonyms.

 

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

few

few /fjuː /〖原義は 「数が少ししかない 」〗形容詞 ～er ; ～est 1 比較なし 〖a few A 〗(数について肯定的に )少数のA , 少し (ばかり )のA, 多少のA 〈人 物 事 〉 (!(1 )Aは複数形名詞; ↓語法 . (2 )限定される内容の場合, aの代わりにthe, one's, this, thatなど他の限定詞が用いられる ) ▸ I'll be back in a few minutes .数分で戻ります ▸ No one died but a few people were badly hurt .死者は出なかったが何人かはひどいけがを負った ▸ I'd like to ask you a few more questions .もう少し質問したいのですが ▸ He was one of the few survivors in his unit .彼は隊の中の数少ない生存者の1人であった ▸ The few islands they had passed were not the Canaries .彼らが通過したいくつかの島々はカナリア諸島ではなかった ▸ in the last [past ] few years この数年間で ▸ his few friends 彼の数少ない友人 ▸ after a few seconds of silence 2, 3秒の沈黙の後 語法 1 a fewとfew (↓2 )のどちらを用いるかは, 明確な基準があるわけではなく話者の心理による. 同じ数量であっても, 肯定的に 「少しはある 」「ないよりまし 」ととらえればa fewを, 否定的に 「ほとんどない 」「少ししかない 」ととらえればfewを用いる .2 U 名詞には (a ) fewの代わりに (a ) littleを用いる ▸ a little [little ] money 少しの [わずかしかない ]お金 3 複数形代名詞を修飾する場合はofを伴う ▸ a few of us (!╳a few usとしない; ↓代名詞 1 , 2 ) .4 a fewはa littleと違って (→little 8 語法 ), 強意のためveryを伴うことがある ▸ We have a very few weeks to go before the exam .試験まで本当にあと数週間だ 2 ｟ややかたく ｠〖few A 〗(数について否定的に )ほとんどないA 〈人 物 事 〉, わずかしかないA (↔many ) (!(1 )Aは複数形名詞. (2 )very, as, so, too, howなどの修飾語を伴わず単独で用いるのは ｟ややかたく ｠響く; a few (↑1 )と紛らわしいので ｟話 ｠ではonly a few, not manyなどで代用されることが多い ) ; ｟かたく 文 ｠〖be ～〗わずかしかない ▸ He has few faults .彼には欠点がほとんどない (≒｟よりくだけて ｠He has almost no faults.)▸ Few people notice the dangers .その危険に気づいているのはほんの数人しかいない ▸ Far fewer [｟くだけて ｠less ] students took the test .はるかに少ない数の学生しかそのテストを受けなかった (→less 形容詞 2 )▸ We are very few , still fewer than yesterday .今日は出席者がきわめて少なく, 昨日以下である 語法 fewはa fewと違って, the few Aなどのように直接限定詞を伴うことはなく, 限定された名詞句や複数形代名詞と用いるときはfew ofの後に続ける (↓代名詞 2 第1例 ).a g ò od f é w A ｟英 ｠＝quite a few A .as f é w as A わずかAしか (only ) (!Aは数を表す表現; 数が驚くほど少ないことを表す ) .b ù t f é w A ｟文 ｠＝only a few A .f è w and f á r betw é en 〖be ～〗きわめてまれな, めったに (い )ない .j ù st a f é w A ＝only a few A .n ò f é wer than A ｟ややかたく ｠Aもの (多くの ) (!Aは数を表す表現; 数が驚くほど多いことを表す ) ▸ He used the word “great ” no fewer than eight times .彼はgreatという単語を8回も使った n ò t a f é w A ｟かたく ｠＝quite a few A .ò nly a f é w A ｟くだけて ｠ほんのわずかのA 〈事 人 物 〉.pr è cious f é w A ｟くだけて ｠ごく少数のA 〈事 物など 〉.qu ì te a f é w A かなり多数のA 〈事 人 物 〉, 少なからぬA ▸ There are quite a few reasons why I don't agree .私が同意しない理由は山ほどある s ò me f é w A 1 少数のA 〈事 物など 〉▸ within some few hours わずかの時間内に 2 ｟米 くだけて ｠かなりたくさんのA 〈事 物など 〉.代名詞 〖複数扱い 〗1 〖a few 〗(数について肯定的に )少数 (の人 [物, 事 ])(↑形容詞 1 )▸ A few of the crew [them ] escaped .乗務員 [彼ら ]のうちの何人かは脱出した (!ofの後の 名詞 はthe [one's, these ]＋複数名詞や 代名詞 など特定の物 人をさす表現; ↑形容詞 語法 (3 ) ▸ Win a few, lose a few .うまくいく時もあればだめな時もある ▸ “How many did you have? ” “A few .”「いくつお持ちでしたかね 」「少し 」2 ｟ややかたく ｠〖aを伴わないで 〗(数について否定的に )ほんのわずかの人 [物, 事 ] (!元来 形容詞 なのでvery, as, so, too, howなどの修飾語を伴うことがある; ↑形容詞 2 注記 (2 )) ▸ There are very few of the villagers [them ] who remember it .村人 [彼ら ]の中でそれを覚えている者はごくわずかしかいない ▸ Few could answer the question .その問いに答えられた者はほとんどいなかった 3 〖the ～; 複数扱い 〗少数の者, 限られたひとにぎりの人 ▸ the chosen few 少数の選ばれた人々 a g ò od f é w ｟英 ｠＝quite a few .b ù t f é w ｟文 ｠＝only a few .have h à d a f é w (t ò o m á ny )｟くだけて ｠酔っ払うほど飲んでいる, (飲みすぎて )酔っ払っている .j ù st a f é w ＝only a few .n ò t a f é w ｟かたく やや古 ｠＝quite a few .ò nly a f é w ｟くだけて ｠ほんのわずかの人 [物 ]▸ Only a few got his meaning .彼の言うことがわかった人はほんの少しだった pr è cious f é w ｟くだけて ｠ごく少数の人 [物 ].qu ì te a f é w かなり多数の人 [物 ]▸ Quite a few of them play baseball .彼らの多くが野球をする 副詞 〖a ～〗少々 ▸ a few too many guests やや多すぎる客