研究社 新英和中辞典

few

音節few 発音記号/fjúː/

【形容詞】

(few・er; few・est) [【可算名詞】 の名詞について用いて]

1 [a をつけない否定的用法で] ほとんどない，少数[少し]しかない (⇔many) (cf. →little 【形容詞】 B1).

用例

He has (very) few friends. 彼には友だちはほとんどない. a man of few words 口数の少ない人. Few tourists stop here. 当地に立ち寄る観光客はほとんどいない.

2 (比較なし) [a few の形で肯定的用法で] 少しはある，ないことはない (cf. little 【形容詞】 B2).

用例

He has a few friends. 彼には友だちが多少[数人]ある. She will come back in a few days. 彼女は数日たてば[近日中に]帰ってくるだろう. one of the few relatives (that) she has 数少ない彼女の親戚の一人 《★【用法】 特定のものをさす時には a が the や one's に変わる》.

3 a 【叙述的用法の形容詞】 数が少ない，ほんの少数で 《★《口語》 では 《あまり用いられない語》》.

用例

Complaints have been few (in number). 苦情は少数だった.

b [the few; 名詞的に; 複数扱い] (多数に対して)少数の人; 少数派; (選ばれた)少数者 (⇔the many) 《★【用法】 名詞とも考えられ few の前に形容詞がつくことがある》.

用例

for the few 少数者のための. to the happy few 幸せな少数者に.

語法

(1) few は数に関して用い, 量については little を用いる. (2) 比較級では fewer は数に, less は量に用いる; また fewer number(s) よりも smaller number(s) のほうがよいとされている. (3) 不定冠詞の有無による「少しはある」「ほとんどない」は気持ちの問題で, 必ずしも数量の大小によるわけではない (cf. little 【形容詞】 B 【語法】).

形容詞としての「few」のイディオムやフレーズ

a góod féw…	èvery féw
féw and fár betwéen	nó féwer than…
nòt a féw…	ònly a féw…
quìte a féw…	sòme féw…

【代名詞】

[複数扱い]

1 [a をつけない否定的用法で] (数が)少数(しか…ない).

用例

Very [Comparatively] few understood what he said. 彼の言ったことのわかる人はごく[比較的]少なかった (⇒little 【代名詞】 1 【語法】).

2 [a few の形で肯定的用法で] 少数の人[もの] 〔of〕.

用例

A few of them know it. 彼らの中でそれを知っている者が少しいる.

代名詞としての「few」のイディオムやフレーズ

nòt a féw	ònly a féw
quìte a féw	sòme féw

【語源】

古期英語から

>>英語の代名詞一覧 >>「中学以上の水準の代名詞」の一覧

ハイパー英語辞書

few

【形容詞】

あまり, いくつかの, 少ない

用例

Few people understand the difference.

印欧語根
pau-	（数・量・大きさが）少ないこと、小さいことを表す（few, poorなど）。

ライフサイエンス辞書

few

****

(比較級fewer-最上級fewest)
わずかな, 少ない

関連語

a fraction of, insignificant, little, marginally, modest, modestly, only, scant, slight, slightly, subtle, subtly

用例

few [少人数]

Most received perioperative corticosteroids and antiepileptic medications, but few received antidepressants or prophylactic heparin. (JAMA)

few [わずかな]

Relatively few studies have addressed the developmental roles of these cofactors in vivo. (J Biol Chem)

only a few [わずかの]

Because they are uncommon, physicians will usually have seen only a few cases, and randomised data to guide treatment often do not exist. (Lancet Oncol)

within a few seconds [数秒以内に]

In cases in which CF activity resumed, SS rate declined to control levels within a few seconds. (J Neurosci)

These results are obtained within a few seconds. (Bioinformatics)

in the first few weeks of [最初の数週間に]

Rats received Ayerst-9944 (AY-9944), from 6-45 mg i.p. in the first few weeks of life. (Brain Res)

In contrast, mdx mice that also lack MNF die in the first few weeks of life with a severe myopathy. (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA)

fewの共起表現

日本語WordNet(英和)

few

【形容詞】

1

可算名詞と共に使用できて、しばしば'a'によって先行されている数量詞

(a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a')

a few weeks ago 数週間前 a few more wagons than usual いつもより２、３台多いワゴン an invalid's pleasures are few and far between 病人の楽しみはほとんどない few roses were still blooming 少数のばらはまだ咲いていた few women have led troops in battle 戦闘で軍隊を率いた女性はほとんどいなかった

【名詞】

1

小さなエリート集団

(a small elite group)

it was designed for the discriminating few それは少数特権階級のために設計された

>>「few」に関する類語一覧

EDR日英対訳辞書

few

少数

日英固有名詞辞典

Few

人名

苗字 フュー

斎藤和英大辞典

few

寥々；少し；稀；少い；二三；有るか無し；有りもせぬ；少数；僅少；僅；滅多に無い

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Few

寡少

Weblio英和対訳辞書

few

片, 少ない, 少い, 尠い, 寡い, 不勢, 幾つか, 些少, 少数, 仄か, 側か, 少, 若干, 幾許, 寡少, 少し, 寥寥, 寥々, 僅少

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few

一二, 少許

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few

〈数〉・わずかの, 〈数〉・多少の, 若干の

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few (and far between)

〈少ない〉・まれな

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Wiktionary英語版

few

出典:『Wiktionary』 (2013/01/16 20:42 UTC 版)

語源

From Middle English fewe (“few”), from 古期英語 fēawa, fēawe, fēa (“few”), from Proto-Germanic *fawaz (“few”), from Proto-Indo-European *ph₁w- (“few, small”). Cognate with Old Saxon fā (“few”), Old High German fao, fō (“few, little”), Old Norse fár (“few”), Gothic ���������� (fawai, “few”), Latin paucus (“little, few”). More at poor.

発音

• (英国発音) IPA: /fjuː/, X-SAMPA: /fju:/
• (米国発音) IPA: /fju/, X-SAMPA: /fju/
• 韻: -uː

限定詞

few (比較級 fewer, 最上級 fewest)

1. (preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of.

   I was expecting lots of people at the party, but very few (=almost none) turned up.

   Quite a few of them (=many of them) were pleasantly surprised.

   I don't know how many drinks I've had, but I've had a few. [This usage is likely ironic.]

2. (used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated または implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.

   There are few people who understand quantum theory.

   Many are called, but few are chosen.

3. (meteorology, of clouds) (US?) Obscuring one eighth to two eighths of the sky.

   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 phenomenon aloft are present--that is, not when obscuring phenomenon are surface-based, such as fog.

4. (meteorology, of rainfall with regard to a location) (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.

使用する際の注意点

• Few is used with plural nouns only; its synonymous counterpart little is used with uncountable nouns.
• Although indefinite in nature, a few is usually more than two (two often being referred to as "a couple of"), and less than "several". If the sample population is say between 5 and 20, a few would mean three or four, but no more than this. However, if the population sample size were in the millions, "a few" could refer to several hundred items. In other words, few in this context means a very very small percentage but way over the 3 or 4 usually ascribed to it its use with much much smaller numbers.

Few is grammatically affirmative but semantically negative, and it can license negative polarity items. For example, lift a finger usually cannot be used in affirmative sentences, but can be used in sentences with few.

• He didn't lift a finger to help us.

  *He lifted a finger to help us. (ungrammatical)

  Few people lifted a finger to help us.

  *A few people lifted a finger to help us. (ungrammatical)

  *Fewer people lifted a finger to help us. (ungrammatical)

参照

• Meteorology (both senses)

  NOAA Glossary: f

反意語

• many

関連する語

• a few
• little
• quite a few

代名詞

few

1. Few people, few things.

   Many are called, but few are chosen.

反意語

• many

統計情報

• Most common English words before 1923: face · tell · because · #177: few · whom · love · far