See also: POCO, póco, poço, and po co

Asturian edit

Adjective edit

poco

  1. neuter of pocu

Interlingua edit

Noun edit

poco (plural pocos)

  1. little bit

Italian edit

Etymology edit

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 edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɔ.ko/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔko
  • Hyphenation: pò‧co

Adverb edit

poco

  1. little, not much
    • early-mid 1310smid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto VII”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory]‎[1], lines 64–66; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎[2], 2nd 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      Little had we withdrawn us from that place, when I perceived the mount was hollowed out in fashion as the valleys here are hollowed.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 pocosee you later
    • mid 1300smid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto VIII”, in Inferno [Hell]‎[3], lines 58–60; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎[4], 2nd 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 edit

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

  1. little, not much
    • mid 1300smid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXIX”, in Inferno [Hell]‎[5], lines 114–117; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎[6], 2nd 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 edit

poco m (invariable)

  1. little
    Synonym: po'
    • mid 1300smid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XIV”, in Inferno [Hell]‎[7], lines 68–70; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎[8], 2nd 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 edit

poco (feminine poca, masculine plural pochi, feminine plural poche) (indefinite)

  1. little, not much
    Antonym: molto
    • mid 1300smid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno [Hell]‎[9], lines 4–7; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎[10], 2nd 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
  3. nearly, not long, short, little (time)

Derived terms edit

Neapolitan edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Latin paucus.

Pronunciation edit

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

Determiner edit

poco

  1. little

References edit

  • 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 edit

Etymology edit

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 edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈpoko/ [ˈpo.ko]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (Peru):(file)
  • Rhymes: -oko
  • Syllabification: po‧co

Determiner edit

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 saludableunhealthy

Adverb edit

poco

  1. little (not much)
    Comí poco.
    I ate little / I didn’t eat much.

Noun edit

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 pocoa little while ago
    dentro de pocoin a little bit

Derived terms edit

superlatives
diminutives

Further reading edit