In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
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
2 April 2025
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.