Antonyms for fews


Grammar : Noun
Spell : fyoo
Phonetic Transcription : fyu


Definition of fews

Origin :
  • Old English feawe (plural; contracted to fea) "few, seldom, even a little," from Proto-Germanic *faw-, from PIE root *pau- (1) "few, little" (cf. Latin paucus "few, little," paullus "little," parvus "little, small," pauper "poor;" Greek pauros "few, little," pais (genitive paidos) "child;" Latin puer "child, boy," pullus "young animal;" Oscan puklu "child;" Sanskrit potah "a young animal," putrah "son;" Old English fola "young horse;" Old Norse fylja "young female horse;" Old Church Slavonic puta "bird;" Lithuanian putytis "young animal, young bird"). Always plural in Old English.
  • Phrase few and far between attested from 1660s. Unusual ironic use in quite a few "many" (1883), earlier a good few (1828). The noun is late 12c., fewe, from the adjective.
  • Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. [Winston Churchill, 1940]
  • As in sprinkling : noun hint, dash
  • As in minority : noun an outnumbered group
Example sentences :
  • I loafed a fews days in Fort George, sort of thinking I might hear from you.
  • Extract from : « North of Fifty-Three » by Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • Albert Gallatin had remained his friend, but his connections, the Fews and Nicholsons, had ignored the author they once idolized.
  • Extract from : « The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. II. (of II) » by Moncure Daniel Conway

Synonyms for fews

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019