{
  "id": "little.size",
  "term": "little",
  "sense": "size",
  "pos": "adjective",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 4,
  "arena": "little",
  "domain": "size",
  "style": null,
  "definition": "has less space extent than most others",
  "folk_gloss": null,
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "extent.spatial",
      "difference.relation",
      "big.size",
      "others.distinct-entities",
      "space.extent"
    ],
    "interaction": "When a thing's space extent differs by being less than that of most others, the relation of smallness emerges.",
    "novel_properties": [
      "relative smallness",
      "comparative spatial deficiency",
      "minor extent in context"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "The International Space Station's modules occupy 340 cubic meters, less than a Boeing 747's cabin volume.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    },
    {
      "text": "A pygmy marmoset weighs 100 grams, smaller than most other primate species.",
      "domain": "biology"
    },
    {
      "text": "Luxembourg spans 2,586 square kilometers, making it one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe.",
      "domain": "geography"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "id": "big.size",
      "note": "contrasts-with",
      "type": "contrasts-with"
    }
  ],
  "used_by": [
    "black.color",
    "bush.plant",
    "close.spatial",
    "easy.effort",
    "recent.temporal",
    "young.age"
  ],
  "forms": [
    "little",
    "littler",
    "littlest"
  ],
  "closed": true,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "openrouter:openai/gpt-oss-120b",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.6,
    "reconciled": {
      "by": "openrouter:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
      "date": "2026-07-31",
      "changed": "components",
      "note": "Added 'others.distinct-entities' and 'space.extent' to components; they are necessary for the comparative and spatial interpretation in the definition."
    }
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-little.size"
}