Meaning: small

Illustrative Context

This is a small stone. That is a big stone.

Target Sense

• The most generic term, typically adjectival, for small size in an unspecified dimension. The basic, default antonym of big.
• The basic term will generally be applicable very widely, but must be applicable at least to inanimate objects, as in the illustrative context.
• Avoid terms that only or predominantly refer to the size of people.
• Avoid terms specific to a particular dimension like height, width or girth: i.e. avoid terms such as short, narrow or thin.
• Avoid intensifying terms stressing particular smallness, e.g. tiny, minute.
• Many languages have a range of terms in this general semantic field, e.g. English small (the target) but also little. Select only the default, most neutral term. To help identify this, use the standard tests in the general IE-CoR guidelines, such as:
  • Which lexeme is most used in wh- questions: e.g. English How small is it?, more neutral and normal than How little is it?
  • Which lexeme has the fullest and most normal paradigm: e.g. English smaller, smallest are normal, whereas littler, littlest are considerably more marked.
• In particular, enter the most neutral term, free from value judgements. In particular, the target lexeme should not inherently bear affective and diminutive senses of endearing, as present in most uses of English little rather than the more neutral default lexeme small.
• Enter a full (adjective) word form, not an affix. Many languages use diminutive affixes just as widely, if not more so, than an adjectival root for small. Nonetheless, these affixes also typically have additional affective senses, so are often not as widely used in the neutral, value-free target sense for IE-CoR. Enter instead the full word form that is most neutral in this sense, as would be used in the illustrative sentence.
• See also the definition for the IE-CoR meaning big.