Smaller

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈsmɔː.lə/

Definitions

1. Being of diminished size or magnitude when compared to another object
2. Existing in a lesser form or degree relative to something else in terms of volume or space
3. Having less physical dimension or extent relative to another item

Etymology: Before "small" ever meant little, the Old English adjective "smæl" meant "narrow, slim, slender," and that older sense survives in the cognates. German "schmal" and Dutch "smal" still mean "narrow," and Swedish "smal" means "narrow" or "slim." So the comparative "smaller" began life as a comparison of thinness before it became a comparison of size in general. The root reaches well beyond Germanic. Proto-Indo-European "*(s)mal-" gave rise to the Germanic forms, and it also connects to Latin "malus," meaning "bad" or "wicked." Slavic languages keep the size sense alive: Russian "malyj," Polish "mały," and Czech "malý" all mean "small." The English word is thus a distant relative of the Latin word for "evil," a pairing that seems unlikely until you see how many of these roots were built around ideas of slightness and weakness.

Synonyms: tinier, lesser, diminutive, petite, miniature

Antonyms: larger, bigger, greater, more substantial