Few

How to spell few

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce few

What does few mean?

1. determinerA small number of; not many.
2. pronounA small number of people or things considered as a group.

Few in a sentence

• determiner

  Only a few people turned up to the early meeting.

• pronoun

  Many applied for the grant, but few were chosen.

• determiner

  We have few options left after the budget cuts.

• pronoun

  Of all the candidates, only a few met the requirements.

Where does few come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word comes from the Old English feawe, meaning 'not many' or 'a small number', which existed in plural forms before settling into the modern single shape. It traces back to a Proto-Germanic root that also produced related words in the older Continental languages, and ultimately to an Indo-European root meaning 'small' or 'little'. That same ancient root is connected to the Latin paucus, meaning 'few' (the source of English 'paucity'), and to the word 'foal', which originally meant a young or small animal. The spelling settled with the 'ew' ending that English uses for the long 'oo' or 'yoo' sound, as in 'new' and 'dew'. Because it is short and entirely native, few has stayed remarkably stable in form for over a thousand years, and the only real spelling caution is not confusing the 'ew' pattern with the interjection 'phew'.

How the word is built

• few (single root from Old English feawe meaning 'not many')

Words that sound like few

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• phew: An exclamation expressing relief, tiredness, or mild disgust, imitating the sound of breath blown out.