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Origin and history of few

few(adj.)

Old English feawe (plural; contracted to fea) "not many, a small number; seldom, even a little," from Proto-Germanic *fawaz (source also of Old Saxon fa, Old Frisian fe, Old High German fao, Old Norse far, Danish faa), from PIE root *pau- (1) "few, little."

Always plural in Old English, according to OED "on the analogy of the adverbial fela," meaning "many." Phrase few and far between attested from 1660s. Unusual ironic use in quite a few "many" (1854), earlier a good few (1803).

There is likewise another dialectical use of the word few among them [i.e. "the Northern Counties"], seemingly tending to its total overthrow; for they are bold enough to say— "a good few," meaning a good many. [Samuel Pegge, "Anecdotes of the English Language," London, 1803]

few(n.)

"a small number of persons" (distinguished from the many), c. 1300, fewe, from few (adj.).

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. [Winston Churchill, 1940]

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to few

fewness(n.)

Old English; see few (adj.) + -ness.

paucity(n.)

late 14c., paucite, "smallness of quantity, scantiness;" early 15c., "smallness of number, fewness," from Old French paucité (14c.) and directly from Latin paucitatem (nominative paucitas) "fewness, scarcity, a small number," from paucus "few, little," from PIE *pau-ko-, suffixed form of root *pau- (1) "few, little" (source also of few (adj.)).

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Trends of few

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

many
"being or consisting of a large number of units or individuals," Middle English mani, manige "indefinitely numerous, many a, much," from Old English monig, manig, from Proto-Germanic *managaz (source also of Old Saxon manag, Swedish mången, Old Frisian manich, Dutch menig, Old Hi
congeries
As a matter of observation, very few men have any such sense....No social order can exist very long unless a few, at least a few, men have such a sense....
rare
[thin, few, unusual] late 14c., "thin, airy, porous" (opposed to dense); mid-15c., "few in number and widely separated, sparsely..."Having the particles not close together," hence "few in number," hence, "unusual."...Rare implies that only few of the kind exist : as, perfect diamonds are rare....
Oligocene
present, coined in German (1854) by paleontologist Heinrich Ernst von Beyrich (1815-1896), from oligo- "small, little, few...So called because few modern fossils were found in Oligocene rocks, which were especially prominent in northern Germany....
oligarchy
small exclusive class," 1570s, from French oligarchie (14c.), from Latinized form of Greek oligarkhia "government by the few...," from stem of oligos "few, small, little" (a word of uncertain origin) + -arkhia, from arkhein "to rule" (see archon)....rich, being the majority, possess the sovereign power; and an oligarchy, when the rich and those of noble birth, being few...It might be inferred, on the other hand, that in this definition of a democracy the few are excluded from the sovereign power...
concise
"comprehending much in few words," 1580s, from Latin concisus "cut off, brief," past participle of concidere "to cut off,...Concise frequently refers to style, and signifies the expression of much in few words; succinct is generally applied to the...
a
It also is used before nouns of singular number and a few plural nouns when few or great many is interposed....
elite
"a choice or select body, the best part," 1823, from French élite "selection, choice," from Old French eslite (12c.), fem. past participle of elire, elisre "pick out, choose," from Latin eligere "choose" (see election). Borrowed in Middle English as "chosen person" (late 14c.), e
eerie
also eery, c. 1300, "timid, affected by superstitious fear," north England and Scottish variant of Old English earg "cowardly, fearful, wretched; slow, indolent, useless," from Proto-Germanic *arh- (source also of Old Frisian erg "evil, bad," Middle Dutch arch "bad," Dutch arg, O
genesis
Old English Genesis, first book of the Pentateuch, which tells among other things of the creation of the world, from Latin genesis "generation, nativity," in Late Latin taken as the title of first book of the Old Testament, from Greek genesis "origin, creation, generation," from

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