Fewer

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Few \Few\ (f[=u]), a. [Compar. {Fewer} (f[=u]"[~e]r); superl.
     {Fewest}.] [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. fe['a], pl. fe['a]we; akin
     to OS. f[=a]h, OHG. f[=o] fao, Icel. f[=a]r, Sw. f[*a], pl.,
     Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. pay^ros. Cf.
     {Paucity}.]
     Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; --


     indicating a small portion of units or individuals
     constituting a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few
     people. "Are not my days few?" --Job x. 20.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           Few know and fewer care.                 --Proverb.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Few is often used partitively; as, few of them.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fewer
       adj : (comparative of `few' used with count nouns) quantifier
             meaning a smaller number of; "fewer birds came this
             year"; "the birds are fewer this year"; "fewer trains
             were late" [ant: {more(a)}]