puțin

Uncertain, as with a number of similar words across the Romance languages. Probably from Vulgar Latin *putīnus, a blend/alteration of Latin pisinnus, pittinnus and putillus, pusillus, all meaning “a teeny boy”. Compare Aromanian putsãn; further Albanian picërr, Italian piccino and piccolo, French petit and pitchoun (from Nissart Occitan), Old Logudorese pithinnu, Tarantino piččinnu.^[1]

An alternative, perhaps less likely, theory derives it from a Vulgar Latin root *paucīnus, from Latin paucus (“few, little”).^[2] Cf. Italian pochino (“a small amount”).

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puțin m or n (feminine singular puțină, masculine plural puțini, feminine and neuter plural puține)

(determiner)

1. a little, few, little
2. some
3. small (in quantity), little, reduced, meager

puțin

1. a little, few, a small amount

   Antonym: mult

   Amicii mei înțeleg numai puțin românește.

   My friends understand only a little Romanian.

• pic
• nițel (colloquial)
• oleacă (colloquial)

• cel puțin
• împuțina
• puținătate
• puțintel