Толковый словарь английского языка Oxford English Reference - few

adj. & n. --adj. not many (few doctors smoke; visitors are few). --n. (as pl.) 1 (prec. by a) some but not many (a few words should be added; a few of his friends were there). 2 a small number, not many (many are called but few are chosen). 3 (prec. by the) a the minority. b the elect. 4 (the Few) colloq. the RAF pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain. Phrases and idioms every few once in every small group of (every few days). few and far between scarce. a good few colloq. a fairly large number. have a few colloq. take several alcoholic drinks. no fewer than as many as (a specified number). not a few a considerable number. some few some but not at all many. Derivatives fewness n. Etymology: OE feawe, feawa f. Gmc