schmal
/ʃmaːl/
adjective
Origin
Proto-Germanic
*smalaz — small, narrow
Overview
Meaning Now
- narrow, thin, or slender
- meager, insufficient, or small in amount
Literal older meaning
narrow or constricted
Language path
Proto-Germanic → Old High German → German
Earliest form
smal
Earliest period
8th century
Journey
The term originates from the Germanic root meaning 'small' or 'insignificant'. While it eventually narrowed in meaning to specifically describe physical width (narrowness) in German, it retained the sense of 'small quantity' (as in 'schmale Kost', meager fare). It is a cognate to English 'small', which underwent a semantic narrowing in the opposite direction, from 'narrow/slender' to 'little in size'.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*smalaz
“small, trivial”
Adjective denoting smallness in size or value.
- Old High German
smal
“small, thin, narrow”
Development of High German consonant shift.
- Middle High German
smal
“slender, narrow, insignificant”
- Modern German
schmal
“narrow, meager”
Connections
Word parts
schmal
root
narrow/small
Related across languages
English
little in size
Dutch
smal
narrow
Old Norse
smalr
small, narrow
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Related to schmal
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.