poco

See also: POCO, póco, poço, and po co

Asturian

Adjective

poco

1. neuter of pocu

Interlingua

Noun

poco (plural pocos)

1. little bit

Italian

Etymology

From Latin paucus, from Proto-Italic *paukos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ukos, derived from the root *peh₂w- (“few”, “little”). Compare French peu, Portuguese pouco, Spanish poco.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔ.ko/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔko
• Hyphenation: pò‧co

Adverb

poco

1. little, not much
   • 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto VII”, in Purgatorio‎^[1], lines 64–66; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata‎^[2], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Poco allungati c’eravam di lici,
     quand’io m’accorsi che ’l monte era scemo,
     a guisa che i vallon li sceman quici.

     Little had we withdrawn us from that place, when I perceived the mount was hollowed out in fashion as the valleys here are hollowed.

2. (followed by an adjective) little, not very, poorly
3. (time) a little, a while, a short time

   a tra poco ― see you later

   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto VIII”, in Inferno‎^[3], lines 58–60; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata‎^[4], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Dopo ciò poco vid’io quello strazio
     far di costui a le fangose genti,
     che Dio ancor ne lodo e ne ringrazio.

     A little after that, I saw such havoc made of him by the people of the mire, that still I praise and thank my God for it.

Determiner

poco (feminine poca, masculine plural pochi, feminine plural poche, superlative pochettino)

1. little, not much
   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXIX”, in Inferno‎^[5], lines 114–117; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata‎^[6], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     e quei, ch’avea vaghezza e senno poco,
     volle ch’i’ li mostrassi l’arte; e solo
     perch’ io nol feci Dedalo, mi fece
     ardere a tal che l’avea per figliuolo.

     And he who had conceit, but little wit, would have me show to him the art; and only because no Dædalus I made him, made me be burned by one who held him as his son.

2. few, not many
3. short, little (of time)

Noun

poco m (invariable)

1. little

   Synonym: po'

   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XIV”, in Inferno‎^[7], lines 68–70; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata‎^[8], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Quei fu l’un d’i sette regi
     ch’assiser Tebe; ed ebbe e par ch’elli abbia
     Dio in disdegno, e poco par che ’l pregi

     One of the Seven Kings was he [Capaneus] who Thebes besieged, and held, and seems to hold God in disdain, and little seems to prize him

Pronoun

poco (no feminine, masculine plural pochi, feminine plural poche) (indefinite)

1. little, not much

   Antonym: molto

   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno‎^[9], lines 4–7; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata‎^[10], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
     esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
     che nel pensier rinova la paura!
     Tant’è amara che poco è più morte

     Oh! how hard a thing it is to say what was this forest savage, rough, and stern, which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is little more

2. (in the plural) few, not many

   Antonym: molti

3. nearly, not long, short, little (time)

Derived terms

• a dir poco
• a poco a poco
• da poco
• di lì a poco
• di poco
• fra poco
• per poco
• poc'anzi
• pochetto
• pochezza
• pochino
• poco di buono
• tra poco
• un po'/un poco

 

Neapolitan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin paucus.

Pronunciation

• (Naples) IPA^(key): [ˈpɔːkə], (in sandhi) [-u]

Determiner

poco

1. little

References

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 985: “c'è poco pane” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin paucus, from Proto-Italic *paukos, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, little”). Compare French peu, Italian poco, Portuguese pouco.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoko/ [ˈpo.ko]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Peru):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oko
• Syllabification: po‧co

Determiner

poco m (plural pocos, feminine poca, feminine plural pocas, superlative poquísimo)

1. little, not much

   Bebí poca agua.

   I drank little water.

   Nos casamos hace poco tiempo.

   We got married recently.

   (literally, “We got married a little time ago.”)

2. few, not many

   Muy pocas personas hacen eso.

   Very few people do that.

3. un-, not

   poco saludable ― unhealthy

Adverb

poco

1. little (not much)

   Comí poco.

   I ate little / I didn’t eat much.

Noun

poco m (plural pocos)

1. little (a small amount)

   Hablo un poco (de) inglés.

   I speak a little English.

2. a short time, a little while

   hace poco ― a little while ago

   dentro de poco ― in a little bit

Derived terms

• a pocas vueltas
• a poco que
• a pocos lances
• a pocos pasos
• al poco rato
• apocar
• cara de pocos amigos
• de a poco
• de poca monta
• de poca ropa
• de pocas palabras
• de poco pelo
• en poco
• éramos pocos y parió la abuela
• mucho ruido y pocas nueces
• nunca mucho cuesta poco
• poca cosa
• pocazo
• poco a poco
• poco a poquito
• poco hecho
• poco más o menos
• poco o nada
• poquedad
• poquitín
• por lo poco que uno sabe
• por poco
• qué poca madre
• qué poco
• sobre poco más o menos
• un poco
• unos pocos

 

superlatives

• poquísimo

 

diminutives

• poquillo
• poquito
• tener pocas chichas

 

Further reading

• “poco”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28