Etimology
From Middle English fewe, from Old English fēaw (“few”), from Proto-West Germanic *fau, from Proto-Germanic *fawaz (“few”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”). Cognate with Old Saxon fā (“few”), Old High German fao, fō (“few, little”), Old Norse fár (“few”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍃 (faus, “few”), Latin paucus (“little, few”) (whence English pauper, poor etc.). More at poor.
determiner
few (comparative fewer or less, superlative fewest or least)
(preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of.
(used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.
(meteorology, of clouds) Obscuring one to two oktas (eighths) of the sky.
(meteorology, of rainfall with regard to a location) (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.
Examples
No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again.
There are a few cars in the street.
Quite a few people were pleasantly surprised.
I think he's had a few drinks. [This usage is likely ironic.]
There are very few people who understand quantum theory.
I was expecting a big crowd at the party, but very few people turned up.
Your men are valiant but their number few,And cannot terrifie his mightie hoſt, […]
Tonight: A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness overnight.
NOAA definition of the term "few clouds": An official sky cover classification for aviation weather observations, descriptive of a sky cover of 1/8 to 2/8. This is applied only when obscuring phenomena aloft are present--that is, not when obscuring phenomena are surface-based, such as fog.
Related words
synonyms
little (see usage)
antonyms
many
related terms
paucity
poor
pronoun
few
Few people, few things.
Examples
Many are called, but few are chosen.
Related words
antonyms
many