Meaning

noun a small amount or duration

adjective limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

adjective (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some

originFrom Middle English litel, litell, luitel, lutel, lutil, luytel, from Old English lȳtel, lyttel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil (“little”), from *lūtan (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, crouch, duck”), equivalent to lout + -le. Cognates Cognate with Yola lethel, litha, lithel, lythea (“little”), North Frisian letj…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0