See Also: mattress(medicine)
mattress(dictionary)
mattress(dictionary)
end-on mattress suture(medicine)
mattress suture(medicine)

little(1) (iou) and mattress (medicine)


little(1) (iou)



little adjective, noun, & adverb.
[Old English ltel, lytel = Old Saxon luttil (Dutch luttel), Old High German luzzil (Middle High German, German dial. lutzel), from West Germanic adjective, from base repr. also by Old English lyt adverb 'little'.]
A. adjective. Compar. LESS adjective, LESSER, littler; superl. LEAST, littlest.
I. Small; not great.
Of a material object, area of space, etc.: small in size, not large or big. Of a person: short in stature. OE.
L. Sterne Green taffeta, lined with a little bit of white quilted satin. J. Conrad Depend on me to pick up the least little bit of a hint. Harper Lee A big cake and two little ones on Miss Maudie's kitchen table. A. N. Wilson They had been talking..of getting a little cottage. W. Trevor I think we might have a little drink. D. DeLillo It's a little bitty thing but it shoots real bullets.
b. attrib. Designating the smaller or smallest of things of the class specified; forming names of animals (esp. birds), towns, rivers, streets, districts, etc., that are less large or important, later established, or suggestive of another or others of that name. Opp. GREAT adjective 7b. OE.
little auk, little gull, little owl, etc. Little Clarendon Street, Little Malvern, Little Ouse, etc. Little Africa, Little England, Little Italy, Little Switzerland, Little Venice, etc.
c. iron. Big, considerable. Usu. preceded by some. L16.
Shakespeare Richard III Since I am crept in favour with myself, I will maintain it with some little cost. Times Movement out from..London..by teachers who have been there for some little time.
spec. Young; (esp. of a sibling) younger. OE.
I. Murdoch She recalled a little girl, but..the years seemed to have brought about a young woman. Rolling Stone Her sister..remembers her once beating up a bully to protect their little brother. K. Gibbons When I was little I would think of ways of killing my daddy.
Of a collective unity: having few members, inhabitants, etc.; small in number. OE.
Keats What little town by river or sea shore..Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn? J. Morley In the realm of..letters, Voltaire is one of the little band of great monarchs.
Of distance or (a period of) time: short. Also qualifying a specific length of duration or distance with emphatic force. arch. exc. in a little while. OE.
Of a thing: not of great importance or interest; trifling, trivial. Of a person: inferior in rank or condition (now rare). ME.
Ld Macaulay Every little discontent appears to him to portend a revolution. D. Rowe When you're depressed...Even the littlest thing hurts.
b. Paltry, mean, contemptible. L15.
C. Clarke They do this with the little cunning of little minds.
Of an immaterial thing: small in quantity, duration, degree, intensity, etc. ME.
Goldsmith Upon that I proceed,..though with very little hopes to reclaim him. Dickens Tiny Tim..had a plaintive little voice. E. C. Stedman A little poem, 'The Flower'. J. Conrad Seating himself with a little spring on the..parapet. Scott Fitzgerald She gave a little sigh..so small that he did not notice it. M. McCarthy She did not seem to realize the little social nuances.
b. Having the quality or performing the action indicated to a slight extent only. Foll. by of. LME-E16.
c. Of an agent or noun indicating occupation: that is such on a small scale. LME.
A. Young A much larger capital than any little farmer can possess.
Used as an extension of various of the above senses to convey emotional overtones, as affection, amusement, condescension, disparagement, etc., not implied by small. ME.
G. B. Shaw It was that awful little curate. G. B. Shaw Oh dear! My poor little brain is giving way. J. Porter To sink or swim all on my little own! D. Francis I have destroyed better things than your father's little racing stables. R. Rendell They can't wait to get their hot little hands on rich capitalists' property. New Yorker Come and meet Mr. Haelkamp. He's the little painter we're beginning to collect.
II. Opp. much. (In mod. usage also classed as a determiner.)
Not much; only a slight amount or degree of; scarcely any. OE.
J. M. Murry His poetic gift has little or no admixture of non-poetic elements. G. Greene His own books took up so little room. W. Golding There had seemed little light all day. A. McCowen My father..was a man of..very little Education. Q. Crisp He seemed to have little difficulty in finding engagements for me. A. Schlee I..had little idea how to conduct myself.
b. That is scarce or absent. Now rare. OE.
Wordsworth God help me for my little wit!
Preceded by a: a small quantity of; some though not much. Also (rare, Shakes.) without a. ME.
Pope A little learning is a dang'rous thing. Ld Macaulay By a little patience..such a toleration might have been obtained. D. H. Lawrence Not even a little wind flickered the willows of the islets. R. K. Narayan Won't you come and have a little coffee with us? I. Murdoch Mitzi had saved a little money. G. Gordon I was glad to have a little time..to collect myself.
Few, not many. ME-M17.
Special collocations, phrases, & comb.: a little bird: see BIRD noun. a little wee: see WEE adjective. great cry and little wool: see CRY noun. have little scruple: see SCRUPLE noun. Land of Little Sticks, Land of the Little Sticks: see LAND noun1. laugh like little Audrey laugh heartily (esp. at a serious situation). Little Bear: see BEAR noun1 2. little black dress a simple black dress suitable for most relatively formal social engagements. little-boy, little-boyish adjectives pertaining to, suited to, or resembling (that of) a small boy. little-boy-lost adjective resembling (that of) a small boy who has lost his way. little boys' room euphem. a men's lavatory. little CASSINO. little chief hare N. Amer. [translating Chipewyan bucka-thrae-ggayaze] a N. American pika, Ochotona princeps. little death a weakening or loss of consciousness, spec. in sleep or during an orgasm. Little Dipper: see DIPPER 5a. Little Dog: see DOG noun 5. little-ease Hist. a prison-cell too small to stand or lie full-length in. little end Mechanics the smaller end of a connecting-rod, attached to the piston. Little Englander (chiefly Hist.) a person opposed to an imperial role or policy for Britain. Little Englandism (chiefly Hist.) opposition to an imperial role or policy for Britain. Little Entrance: see ENTRANCE noun. little finger either of the outermost and smallest fingers. little-girl, little-girlish adjectives pertaining to, suited to, or resembling (that of) a little girl. little-girl-lost adjective resembling (that of) a small girl who has lost her way. little girls' room euphem. a women's lavatory. little go (a) Hist. a private and illegal Lottery; (b) arch. slang the first examination for the degree of BA at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. little grebe a small dumpy grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, with a trilling call, occurring widely in the Old World; also called dabchick. little green man an imaginary person of peculiar appearance, esp. from outer space. little Hitler: see HITLER noun 2. Little Horse the constellation Equuleus. little house (now Austral., NZ, & dial.) a privy, a lavatory. little ice age Meteorology any period of comparatively cold climate occurring outside the major glacial periods; spec. (freq. with cap. initials) such a period which occurred in the 17th cent. little Joe in the game of craps, a throw of four. Little League N. Amer. a Baseball league for children between the ages of 8 and 12. Little Lion: see LION noun 5. little magazine a literary magazine, usu. with experimental Writing and in small format. little man (a) (esp. joc.) (as a form of address) a boy; (b) a person working or producing on a small scale; (c) the ordinary 'man in the street'; (d) (now dial.) the little finger. Little Mary colloq. the stomach. little master: see MASTER noun1 19. Little Masters a group of 16th-cent. German engravers, followers of Durer, named from the size of their prints. little mastery: see MASTERY 5. little neck (clam) US [from Little Neck, Long Island, NY State] a small variety of quahog. little old: see OLD adjective. little ones young children or animals. little Parliament: see PARLIAMENT noun. little people (a) fairies; (b) children; (c) the poor; ordinary people. little ray of sunshine: see RAY noun1. Little Red Book: see RED adjective. Little Russian noun & adjective (Hist.) (a) noun a Ukrainian; the Ukrainian language; (b) adjective Ukrainian. little scarlet: see SCARLET noun 5. little science scientific or technological investigation not requiring large resources. little season the fashionable season in London in the winter. little skate a small rounded skate, Raja erinacea, which has a densely thorny black back and is common in the NW Atlantic. little slam: see SLAM noun2. little stranger: see STRANGER noun 5c. little theatre: esp. for experimental productions. little tin god: see TIN noun & adjective. little toe either of the outermost and smallest toes. little Turk: see TURK noun1. little-worth adjective (now arch. & Scot.) of little worth. much cry and little wool: see CRY noun. no little: see NO adjective. one's little all: see ALL noun 8. poor little rich boy, poor little rich girl: see POOR adjective. set little store by: see STORE noun. that little lot: see LOT noun. the little corporal: see CORPORAL noun2 1. the little woman (colloq., freq. derog.) one's wife. the patter of little feet: see PATTER noun2. this little lot: see LOT noun. turn round one's little finger, twist round one's little finger, wind round one's little finger, wrap round one's little finger: see FINGER noun. ye gods and little fishes: see GOD noun. your little game: see GAME noun.
b. absol. as noun.
I. absol.
a. Those that are little. Chiefly with the. OE.
b. That which is little; the little qualities, aspects, etc. Chiefly with the. L18.
Not much, only a small amount (of the, my, this, etc.). Qualified by a demonstr. or possess.: (the) small amount, (so) small a quantity. OE.
Oxford English Dictionary He showed little of the amiability which was ascribed to him. I. Murdoch She knew little about jewels. B. Malamud A shrug that may mean much or little. C. Rayner We ate so little. A. Thwaite She knew the value of Education though she had little herself. K. Waterhouse There seems little else to be said.
II.
A small quantity, piece, or portion (of the, my, this, etc.); arch. a small thing; a trifle (usu. in pl.). OE.
T. Godwin He drank a little of the Wine. Disraeli Let me recommend you a little of this pike! A. Tate Not a little of it comes from the comfortable habit of citing a passage in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads. N. Coward Would you like some brandy?..Just a little. I. Murdoch Out of so much, can we not salvage a little.
A short time or distance. Chiefly in after a little, for a little, in a little. OE.
Phrases: a little (a) to a little or slight extent; in a small degree; (b) for or at a short time or distance. a little somewhat, rather. by little and little arch. = little by little below. in little (a) on a small scale; (b) spec. (Painting) in miniature. know little and care less: see KNOW verb. little by little by degrees, gradually. little or nothing hardly anything. make little of: see MAKE verb. not a little a great deal. say little for: see SAY verb1. see little of: see SEE verb.
C. adverb.
To only a small extent or degree; not much. Also, infrequently, rarely. OE.
W. S. Maugham She cared little what he spoke of. J. Buchan He is old and can go about very little. S. Bedford They entertained their neighbours as little as possible. G. Greene It is awful how little we change. E. Blishen We thought little of the concert hall, a university lecture room. Cornwall Review St. Just-in-Penwith..seems to have been little influenced by the outside world. V. S. Naipaul I walked..down little-used lateral lanes on the hillsides.
Not at all; hardly. Only with verbs of knowing, thinking, or caring, etc. Freq. preceding the verb modified, with periphrastic do. ME.
M. Edgeworth He little imagined of how much consequence it might be. T. Hardy You only knew me as a governess; you little think what my beginnings were. G. Greene Little did they know that the story..had already reached the ears of the drinkers. New Yorker 'Little did they imagine,' she said.
A little time (before); for only a little time. ME-E17.

mattress (medicine)


mattress


Origin: OF. Materas, F. Matelas, LL. Matratium; cf. Sp. & Pg. Almadraque, Pr. Almatrac; all from Ar. Ma<tsdot/rah a place where anything is thrown, what is thrown under something, fr.

<tsdot/araha to throw.

1. A quilted bed; a bed stuffed with hair, moss, or Other suitable material, and quilted or otherwise fastened.

Alternative forms: matress.

2. <physics> A mass of interwoven brush, poles, etc, to protect a bank from being worn away by currents or waves.

Source: Websters Dictionary