FEWER

fewer

(adjective) (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”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Determiner

fewer (superlative fewest)

comparative degree of few; a smaller number.

Usage notes

Source: Wiktionary

FEW

Few, a. [Compar. Fewer; superl. Fewest.] Etym: [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. feá, pl. feáwe; akin to OS. fah, OHG. f*, Icel. far, Sw. få, pl., Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. Paucity.]

Definition: Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; -- indicating a small portion of units or individuals constituing a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few people. "Are not my days few" Job x. 20. Few know and fewer care. Proverb.

Note: Few is often used partitively; as, few of them. 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition