-
1 vel
I.As disjunctive conjunction, to introduce an alternative as a matter of choice or preference, or as not affecting the principal assertion (while aut introduces an absolute or essential opposition; cf. Madv. Gr. § 436; Zumpt, Gr. § 339; Fischer, Gr. § 383).A.Singly.1.In gen., or (if you will), or else, or (at your pleasure), or (at least), or (it is indifferent), or (what is the same thing), etc.:2.dic igitur me passerculum... haedillum me tuom dic esse vel vitellum,
Plaut. As. 3, 3, 77: viginti minis? Ba. Utrum vis, vel quater quinis minis, id. Ps. 1, 3, 111:lege vel tabellas redde,
id. ib. 1, 1, 29:in solem ponito vel sine sale in defrutum condito,
Cato, R. R. 7: orabant (sc. Ubii), ut sibi auxilium ferret... vel... exercitum modo Rhenum transportaret, or at least, i. e. or, if he preferred it, Caes. B. G. 4, 16:ejusmodi conjunctionem tectorum oppidum vel urbem appellaverunt,
Cic. Rep. 1, 26, 41:in unius voluntate vel moribus,
id. ib. 2, 28, 51:in unā urbe vel in hac ipsā,
id. ib. 3, 10, 17:constituere vel conservare,
id. ib. 2, 38, 64:in ardore caelesti, qui aether vel caelum nominatur,
id. N. D. 2, 15, 41:transfer idem ad modestiam vel temperantiam,
id. Fin. 2, 19, 60; cf. Madv. ad id. ib. 2, 25, 81:unum illud extimescebam, ne quid turpiter facerem, vel dicam, jam effecissem,
id. Att. 9, 7, 1: haec neque confirmare argumentis neque refellere in animo est;ex ingenio suo quisque demat vel addat fidem,
Tac. G. 3.—Esp.a.With potius, to correct or make more precise what has been said, or rather:b.ex hoc populo indomito vel potius immani,
Cic. Rep. 1, 44, 68:post obitum vel potius excessum Romuli,
id. ib. 2, 30, 53:cessit auctoritati amplissimi viri vel potius paruit,
id. Lig. 7, 22:vide quid licentiae nobis tua liberalitas det, vel potius audaciae,
id. ib. 8, 23:ludorum plausus vel testimonia potius,
id. Phil. 1, 15, 36:quam valde ille reditu vel potius reversione meā laetatus!
id. Att. 16, 7, 5; id. Phil. 13, 9, 19:novem tibi orbibus, vel potius globis conexa sunt omnia,
id. Rep. 6, 17, 17:plurimas vel potius omnes ex se ipso virtutes contulit,
Quint. 10, 1, 109.—In climax after a negative:tu certe numquam in hoc ordine vel potius numquam in hac urbe mansisses,
Cic. Phil. 2, 15, 38.—So corrective, without potius:c.sed haec tu melius vel optime omnium,
Cic. Fam. 4, 13, 7:clariore vel plane perspicua,
id. Fin. 5, 20, 55; id. Lael. 12, 41:Capua ab duce eorum Capye, vel. quod propius vero est, a campestri agro appellata,
Liv. 4, 37, 1:cum P. Decius se in Samnium vel in Etruriam proficisci paratum esse ostendisset,
id. 10, 26, 4.—Esp. in the phrase vel dicam, or let me rather say, or rather:quando enim nobis, vel dicam aut oratoribus bonis aut poëtis, ullus... ornatus defuit?
Cic. Fin. 1, 3, 10; id. Brut. 57, 207; id. Cael. 31, 75; id. Phil. 2, 12, 30; id. Att. 9, 7, 1; Suet. Calig. 13.—So intensive, or I may even say (cf. II. A. 3. infra):omnes binos consules, vel dicam amplius, omnia nomina,
Varr. L. L. 8, p. 106 Bip.:a plerisque vel dicam ab omnibus,
Cic. Fam. 4, 7, 3; id. Brut. 70, 246.—Vel etiam, or even:d.ut expositio quarundam rerum gestarum vel etiam fabulosarum,
Quint. 4, 3, 12. —= aut, or else.(α).With an alternative necessary consequence:(β).id autem nec nasci potest nec mori, vel concidat omne caelum omnisque natura consistat necesse est,
Cic. Tusc. 1, 23, 54 Tischer ad loc.:vel tu ne faceres tale in adulescentiā,
Plaut. Ps. 1, 5, 22.—In gen. ( poet. and post class.):e.si copias armatorum... secum expenderent, vincendum illā acie vel cadendum esse,
Tac. A. 14, 35:mortem omnibus ex naturā aequalem oblivione apud posteros vel gloriă distingui,
id. H. 1, 21; cf. id. A. 14, 61; 14, 62:quod imperium variā sorte laetum rei publicae aut atrox, principibus prosperum vel exitio fuit,
id. H. 2, 1 init.; 2, 10; 2, 68; cf. Ov. M. 9, 624 sq.; 15, 601 sq.—In a subordinate alternative after aut:B.nec aut tibi ipsi aut huic Secundo vel huic Apro ignotas,
Tac. Or. 28:ne contra Gai quidem aut Claudii vel Neronis... domum,
id. H. 2, 76:abscedens in hortos aut Tusculanum vel Antiatem in agrum,
id. A. 14, 3 init.:dementiae quoque judicia aut propter id quod factum est aut propter id quod adhuc fieri vel non fieri potest instituuntur,
Quint. 7, 4, 29.—As co-ordinate.1.Vel... vel, either... or, be it... or; in gen. (class.; but where the alternatives are necessary and exclusive, that is, where one must be right and the other wrong, aut... aut is used; v. infra, and cf. Madv. ad Cic. Fin. 4, 11, 27): sed hic numquis adest? Pa. Vel adest vel non, i. e. just as you please, Plaut. Mil. 4, 2, 28 Brix ad loc.:b.paucis me misit ad eam... vel ut ducentos Philippos reddat aureos, vel ut hinc eat secum,
id. Bacch. 4, 1, 18 sq.:ubi illic biberit, vel servato meum modum vel ego dabo,
id. Stich. 5, 4, 37:vel tu me vende, vel face quod tibi lubet,
id. Pers. 3, 1, 70:nunc quamobrem huc sum missa, amabo, vel tu mihi ajas, vel neges,
id. Rud. 2, 4, 14; cf. id. ib. 5, 2, 44:Allobrogibus sese vel persuasuros... existimabant, vel vi coacturos, ut, etc.,
Caes. B. G. 1, 6:ut (Romani) vel sibi agros attribuant vel patiantur eos tenere, etc.,
id. ib. 4, 7:vel sumptuosae vel desidiosae illecebrae,
Cic. Rep. 2, 4, 8:in omni vel officio vel sermone sollers,
id. ib. 2, 21, 37:maximum virtutis vel documentum, vel officium,
id. ib. 1, 20, 33:pace vel Quirini vel Romuli dixerim,
id. Off. 3, 10, 42:erant quaestiones vel de caede vel de vi,
id. Mil. 5, 13; 7, 20; id. Leg. 3, 14, 32; id. Lig. 6, 17; id. Deiot. 1, 1; 5, 13; id. Brut. 69, 242:animus vel bello vel paci paratus,
Liv. 1, 1, 8:hunc ordinem ex censu descripsit vel paci decorum vel bello,
id. 1, 42, 5: Etruriam et Samnium provincias esse;utram mallet eligeret: suo exercitu se vel in Etruriā vel in Samnio rem gesturum,
id. 10, 19, 9:gladioque ruptis omnibus loris, oraculi sortem vel elusit vel implevit,
Curt. 3, 1, 18:nihil illo fuisset excellentius vel in vitiis vel in virtutibus,
Nep. Alcib. 1, 1; 2, 1; id. Milt. 3, 4.—Connected with aut, but not corresponding to it (cf. infra, 2. e.):2.num aut tuum aut cujusquam nostrum nomen vel Caucasum hunc transcendere potuit vel illum Gangem transnatare?
Cic. Rep. 6, 20, 22:ubi enim potest illa aetas aut calescere vel apricatione melius vel igni aut vicissim umbris aquisve refrigerari salubrius?
id. Sen. 16, 57:si velim scribere quid aut legere aut canere vel voce vel fidibus, aut geometricum quiddam aut physicum aut dialecticum explicare, etc.,
id. Div. 2, 59, 122.—Esp.a.With weakened disjunctive force (nearly = et... et). quemadmodum ille vel Athenis vel Rhodi se doctissimorum hominum sermonibus dedisset, Cic. de Or. 2, 1, 3:b.multos sine ratione, sine litteris, quā vel inpudentia vel fames duxit, ruentes,
Quint. 2, 20, 2:affectus vel illos mites vel hos concitatos in suā potestate habuisse,
id. 10, 1, 48: eadem quaestio potest eundem vel accusatorem facere vel reum, id. 3, 6, 18: et nundina vetera ex ordine instituit, vel dies vel tempora, Lampr Alex. Sev. 43: pestilentia tanta exstiterat vel Romae, vel Achaicis urbibus, ut, etc., Treb. Gall. 5.—More than twice, either... or... or, etc. tu vel suda, vel peri algu, vel tu aegrota, vel vale, Plaut. Rud. 2, 7, 24:c.hance tu mihi vel vi vel clam vel precario Fac tradas: meā nil re fert, dum potiar modo,
Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 28:vel in tempestate, vel in agris, vel in corporibus,
Cic. Rep. 1, 44, 68:vel quod ita vivit vel quod ita rem publicam gerit vel quod ita factus est,
id. Phil. 2, 5, 10:vel spectator laudum tuarum vel particeps vel socius vel minister consiliorum,
id. Fam. 2, 7, 2; id. Red. Quir. 9, 23;so eight times,
id. Rep. 1, 3, 6. —The second (or last) vel strengthened,(α).By etiam:(β).quae vel ad usum vitae vel etiam ad ipsam rem publicam conferre possumus,
or even, Cic. Rep. 1, 8, 30; so id. ib. 1, 29, 45; 2, 1, 1; cf.:ut vel ea defendam, quae Pompejus velit, vel taceam, vel etiam ad nostra me studia referam litterarum,
id. Fam. 1, 8, 3.—By vero etiam:(γ).in mediocribus vel studiis vel officiis, vel vero etiam negotiis,
Cic. Rep. 1, 3, 4.—By omnino: haec vel ad odium, vel ad misericordiam, vel omnino ad animos judicum movendos ex iis quae sunt ante posita, sumentur ( or in general), Cic. Part. Or. 36, 128.—d.Rarely after a negative = neque, nor:e.neque satis Bruto... vel tribunis militum constabat, quid agerent,
Caes. B. G. 3, 14.—In irregular construction, without the second vel:f.utrumque est in his, quod ab hoc oratore abhorreat: vel quod omnis, qui sapientes non sint, insanos esse dicunt... accedit quod, etc.,
Cic. de Or. 3, 18, 65; id. Att. 11, 7, 5; cf. esp. Lucr. 5, 383 sqq. Munro ad loc. —Vel... vel = aut... aut:g.habere ea, quae secundum naturam sint, vel omnia vel plurima et maxima,
i. e. so nearly all that the difference is unimportant, Cic. Fin. 4, 11, 27; cf.Madv. ad loc.: cum bonā quidem spe, ut ait idem, vel vincendi vel in libertate moriendi,
id. Att. 7, 9, 4.—For vel... vel, in a subordinate alternative after aut, v. the examples under I. B. 1. b. supra.—Vel, correl. with aut (post-Aug. and rare):II.verborum quoque vis ac proprietas confirmatur vel praesumptione... aut reprehensione,
Quint. 9, 2, 18:voces... aut productione tantum vel correptione mutatae,
id. 9, 3, 69 (but the line Ov. M. 1, 546, is spurious); so,aut... aut... vel: ut aut de nomine aut scripto et sententiā vel ratiocinatione quaeratur,
Quint. 3, 6, 72:aut... aut... aut... aut... vel,
id. 8, 6, 68 sq.; cf.:ubi regnat Protogenes aliquis vel Diphilus aut Erimarchus,
Juv. 3, 120.As intens. particle (prop. ellipt., implying an alternative the first member of which is omitted, something else or even this, etc.).A. 1.With subst.:2.tum opsonium autem pol vel legioni sat est,
Plaut. Aul. 3, 6, 24; id. Capt. 1, 2, 23; id. Curc. 5, 2, 13:ita me di ament, vel in lautumiis, vel in pistrino mavelim Agere aetatem, Quam, etc.,
Plaut. Poen. 4, 2, 5: Ep. Si arte poteris accubare. Ge. Vel inter cuneos ferreos, id. Stich. 4, 2, 39:vel rex semper maxumas Mihi agebat gratias,
Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 7:sed tamen vel regnum malo quam liberum populum,
Cic. Rep. 3, 34, 46:isto quidem modo vel consulatus vituperabilis est,
id. Leg. 3, 10, 23:cum se vel principes ejus consilii fore profiterentur,
Caes. B. G. 7, 37:vel Priamo miseranda manus,
Verg. A. 11, 259:ego vel Prochytam praepono Suburae,
Juv. 3, 5:facile me paterer vel illo ipso acerrimo judice quaerente vel apud Cassianos judices... pro Sex. Roscio dicere,
Cic. Rosc. Am. 30, 85:populus Romanus auctoritatem suam vel contra omnes defendere potest,
even if necessary, id. Imp. Pomp. 22, 63:id se probaturum vel ipso Verginio judice,
Liv. 3, 44, 10:belli necessitatibus eam patientiam non adhibebimus, quam vel lusus ac voluptas elicere solet?
id. 5, 6, 3:timebant ne Romana plebs... vel cum servitute pacem acciperet,
even if it should involve their enslavement, id. 2, 9, 5.—With adjj.: Ch. Pax, te tribus verbis volo. Sy. Vel trecentis, Plaut. Trin. 4, 2, 122: Ca. Ut opperiare hos sex dies saltem modo... Ba. Animo bono es. Vel sex mensis opperibor, id. Ps. 1, 3, 89; cf.: jam hercle vel ducentae [p. 1964] minae, id. ib. 1, 3, 68;3.1, 3, 111: hoc ascensu vel tres armati quamlibet multitudinem arcuerint,
Liv. 9, 24, 7: Ph. Dane suavium? Di. Immo vel decem, Plaut. Truc. 2, 4, 22:ego illum eunuchum, si opus sit, vel sobrius,
Ter. Eun. 3, 2, 26:si sit opus, vel totum triduom,
id. ib. 2, 1, 17:haec sunt omnia ingenii vel mediocris,
Cic. de Or. 2, 27, 119.—With verbs: namque edepol quamvis desubito vel cadus vorti potest, may even be turned over, i. e. will be empty, Plaut. Stich. 5, 4, 39:4.ubi ego hinc abiero, vel occidito,
if you will, even, Ter. Phorm. 1, 2, 93:per me vel stertas licet, inquit Carneades, non modo quiescas,
Cic. Ac. 2, 29, 93:ut ipsis sententiis, quibus proluserunt, vel pugnare possint,
id. de Or. 2, 80, 325:cum vel abundare debeam, cogor mutuari,
id. Att. 15 15, 3—With pronn.:B.videndum erit, quid quisque vel sine nobis aut possit consequi aut non possit,
Cic. Off. 1, 18, 59:existiment quod velint, ac vel hoc intellegant,
id. Fin. 5, 11, 33:est tibi ex his ipsis qui assunt bella copia, vel ut a te ipso ordiare,
especially as you can begin with yourself, id. Rep. 2, 40, 67.—With superlatives, to denote the highest possible degree, the very; the utmost; the most...possible.1.With adjj.: hoc invenisset unum ad morbum illum homini vel bellissimum, the very loveliest, the most beautiful possible, Lucil. ap. Non. 527, 28:2.vidi in dolore podagrae ipsum vel omnium maximum Stoicorum Posidonium,
Cic. Fragm. ib. 32:hoc in genere nervorum vel minimum, suavitatis autem est vel plurimum,
the very least... the utmost possible, id. Or. 26, 91:quarum duarum (civitatum) si adessent (legationes), duo crimina vel maxima minuerentur,
id. Div. in Caecil. 5, 14:patre meā sententiā vel eloquentissimo temporibus illis,
the most eloquent possible, id. de Or. 2, 23, 98:quod erat ad obtinendam potentiam nobilium vel maximum, vehementer id retinebatur,
id. Rep. 2, 32, 56:cujus (sc. Hannibalis) eo tempore vel maxima apud regem auctoritas erat,
Liv. 36, 41, 2:vident unum senatorem vel tenuissimum esse damnatum,
Cic. Verr. 1, 16, 46:fora templaque occupabantur, ut vel exspectatissimi triumphi laetitia praecipi posset,
Hirt. B. G. 8, 51:sed vel potentissima apud Amphictyonas aequi tractatio est,
Quint. 5, 10, 118; 11, 1, 81.—With advv.:C.vel studiosissime quaerere,
Cic. Rep. 1, 10, 15:cum Sophocles vel optime scripserit Electram,
id. Fin. 1, 2, 5:vel maxime confirmare,
id. N. D. 2, 65, 162; so,vel maxime,
id. Ac. 2, 3, 9; id. de Or. 1, 8, 32; id. Att. 9, 12, 3; Quint. 1, 3, 12; 4, 3, 4.—In adding an instance implying that other instances might be mentioned at will, or this one; for instance, for example, as for example, in particular:D.Per pol quam paucos reperias Fideles amatores... Vel hic Pamphilus jurabat quotiens Bacchidi, etc.,
Ter. Hec. 1, 1, 3:vel heri in vino quam inmodestus fuisti,
id. Heaut. 3, 3, 7: nullast tam facilis res quin difficilis siet Quom invitus facias;vel me haec deambulatio... ad languorum dedit,
id. ib. 4, 6, 1:sed suavis accipio litteras, vel quas proxime acceperam, quam prudentis!
Cic. Fam. 2, 13, 1:cujus innumerabilia sunt exempla, vel Appii majoris illius, qui, etc.,
id. de Or. 2, 70, 284.—Concessive.1.With superlatives, perhaps:2.adulescens vel potentissimus nostrae civitatis,
Cic. Rosc. A. 2, 6:domus vel optima Messanae, notissima quidem certe,
the best known, at any rate, if not the finest, id. Verr. 2, 4, 2, § 3.—= saltem, at least:quā re etsi minus veram causam habebis, tamen vel probabilem aliquam poteris inducere,
Cic. Fam. 11, 22, 2:plurimi semetipsos exhortantur vel aliquas partes earum (scientiarum) addiscere, quamvis universas percipere non possint,
Col. 11, 1, 11:ac, ni flexisset animos, vel Aegypti praefecturam concedi sibi oraret,
Suet. Ner. 47:ut messe vel unā releves colla perusta,
Mart. 10, 12, 5; Plin. Ep. 1, 12, 8; cf. Madv. ad Cic. Fin. 4, 16, 43. -
2 peu
peu [pø]━━━━━━━━━1. adverb━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. <━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━a. ( = pas beaucoup) not muchb. ( = pas très) not veryc. ( = pas longtemps) shortlyd. ( = rarement) ils se voient peu they don't see each other very oftene. (locutions)• pour peu qu'il soit sorti sans sa clé... if he should have come out without his key...2. <3. <( = petite quantité) little━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► un peu se traduit souvent par l'expression a bit, qui est plus familière que a little ; de même, on peut dire a bit of au lieu de a little pour traduire un peu de.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• c'est un peu fort ! that's a bit much! (inf)• un peu de silence, s'il vous plaît ! can we have a bit of quiet please!► pour un peu• pour un peu, il m'aurait accusé he all but accused me* * *Note: Les emplois de peu avec avant, d'ici, depuis, sous sont traités respectivement sous chacun de ces motsIl sera également utile de se reporter à la note d'usage sur les quantitéspø
1.
1) ( modifiant un verbe) not muchil est aussi borné que son père et ce n'est pas peu dire! — (colloq) he's as narrow-minded as his father and that's saying a lot!
très peu pour moi! — (colloq) fig no thanks! (colloq)
2) ( modifiant un adjectif) not veryils se sentent très peu concernés par... — they feel quite unconcerned about...
2.
pronom indéfinipeu leur font confiance — few ou not many people trust them
3.
peu de déterminant indéfini1) ( avec un nom dénombrable)
4.
nom masculin1) ( petite quantité)le peu de — the little [confiance, liberté]; the few [livres, amis]
il a voulu montrer le peu d'importance qu'il attachait à l'affaire — he wanted to show how unimportant the matter was to him
2) ( manque)
5.
un peu locution adverbiale1) ( dans une mesure faible) a little, a bit‘elle aime le fromage?’ - ‘oui, pas qu'un peu (colloq)!’ — ‘does she like cheese?’ - ‘does she ever (colloq)!’
2) ( modifiant un adverbe) a little, a bitun peu moins de — slightly less [pluie]; slightly fewer [gens]
amène tes amis, un peu plus un peu moins... — bring your friends, another two or three people won't make much difference
‘il avait l'air un peu contrarié’ - ‘un peu beaucoup même (colloq)’ — ‘he looked a bit annoyed’ - ‘more than a bit’
3) ( emploi stylistique) justrépète un peu pour voir! — (colloq) you just try saying that again!
je vous demande un peu! — (colloq) I ask you!
il sait un peu (colloq) de quoi il parle — he does know what he's talking about
4) ( emploi par antiphrase) a little5) (colloq) ( pour renforcer une affirmation)il est un peu bien ton copain! — your boyfriend is a bit of all right (colloq) GB ou a good-looker! (colloq)
‘tu le ferais toi?’ - ‘un peu (que je le ferais)!’ — ‘would you do it?’ - ‘I sure would (colloq)!’
6.
peu à peu locution adverbiale gradually, little by little
7.
pour un peu locution adverbiale
8.
pour peu que locution conjonctive ifpour peu qu'il ait bu, il va nous raconter sa vie — if he's had anything at all to drink, he'll tell us his life story
* * *pø1. adv1) (modifiant un verbe) not muchIl boit peu. — He doesn't drink much.
Il voyage peu. — He doesn't travel much.
J'ai peu mangé à midi. — I didn't eat much for lunch.
2) (modifiant un adjectif) not veryIl est peu bavard. — He's not very talkative.
peu de (avec nom pluriel) — not many, few, (avec nom singulier) not a lot of, not much
peu de gens — not many people, few people
peu d'arbres — not many trees, few trees
Il y a peu de bons films au cinéma. — There aren't many good films on at the cinema.
Elle a peu d'amis. — She hasn't got many friends.
Il reste peu de lait. — There isn't much milk left., There isn't a lot of milk left.
Il a peu d'espoir. — He hasn't got much hope., He has little hope.
Il a peu d'espoir de réussir. — He doesn't have much hope of succeeding.
Il lui reste peu d'argent. — He hasn't got much money left.
c'est peu de chose — it's nothing, it's not much
à peu près — just about, more or less
J'ai à peu près fini. — I've just about finished., I've more or less finished.
à peu près 10 kg — about 10 kg, around 10 kg
à peu près deux heures — about two hours, around two hours
Le voyage prend à peu près deux heures. — The journey takes about two hours., The journey takes around two hours.
pour peu qu'il fasse — if he should do, if by any chance he does
depuis peu (au présent) — for a short while, for a little while
Je suis parisien depuis peu. — I've only been living in Paris for a short while., (au passé) a short while ago, a little while ago
Il est rentré depuis peu. — He came back a short while ago.
Chantal a manqué son train de peu. — Chantal only just missed her train.
Il est de peu mon cadet. — He's just a bit younger than me.
2. nm1)le peu de sable qui — what little sand, the little sand which
2)J'en voudrais un peu. — I'd like a little., (emploi adverbial, avec adjectif) a little, a bit
Elle est un peu timide. — She's a bit shy., She's a little shy.
un peu de — a little, a bit of
un peu de lait — a little milk, a bit of milk
un peu d'espoir — a little hope, a bit of hope
un peu plus de [vent, sucre, personnes, voitures] — slightly more
un peu moins de [vent, sucre] — slightly less, [personnes, voitures] slightly fewer
pour un peu il...; un peu plus et il... — he very nearly..., he all but...
3. pron* * *❢ Les emplois de peu avec avant, d'ici, depuis, sous sont traités respectivement sous chacun de ces mots. Il sera également utile de se reporter à la note d'usage sur les quantités ⇒ Les quantités.A adv1 ( modifiant un verbe) not much; il travaille/dort/parle peu he doesn't work/sleep/talk much; elle gagne assez peu she doesn't earn very much; elle gagne très/trop peu she earns very/too little; le radiateur chauffe peu the radiator doesn't give out much heat; je sors assez/très peu I don't go out very much/very much at all; je sais me contenter de peu I'm satisfied with very little; 40 euros/un demi-litre/1,50 m, c'est (bien) peu 40 euros/half a litreGB/1,50 m, that's not (very) much; 20 personnes, c'est peu 20 people, that's not many; dix minutes/deux mois ça fait peu ten minutes/two months, that's not long; deux semaines c'est trop peu two weeks isn't long enough; si peu que ce soit however little, no matter how little; tu ne vas pas t'en faire pour si peu you're not going to worry about such a little thing; je ne vais pas me casser la tête pour si peu I'm not going to rack my brains over such a little thing; il leur en faut peu pour pleurer/paniquer it doesn't take much to make them cry/panic; la catastrophe a été évitée de peu disaster was only just avoided; tu les as ratés de peu you've just missed them; il est mon aîné de peu he's slightly older than me; j'aime peu sa façon de dévisager les gens I don't much care for the way he stares at people; ça compte or importe peu it doesn't really matter; la cuisine n'est pas très bonne, et c'est peu dire the food isn't very good to say the least; il est aussi borné que son père et ce n'est pas peu dire○! he's as narrow-minded as his father and that's saying a lot!; un homme comme on en voit or fait○ peu the kind of man you don't often come across; très peu pour moi○! fig no thanks○!;2 ( modifiant un adjectif) not very; peu soigneux/ambitieux/fier not very tidy/ambitious/proud; il est très peu jaloux he's not at all jealous; c'est un endroit assez peu connu it's a relatively little-known spot; cet endroit trop peu connu des touristes this spot which is sadly little known to tourists; pour les personnes trop peu qualifiées for people who haven't got enough qualifications; ils se sentent très ou fort peu concernés par… they feel quite unconcerned about…; nous étions peu nombreux there weren't many of us; nous étions très/trop peu nombreux there were very/too few of us; un individu peu recommandable a disreputable character; elle n'est pas peu fière she's more than a little proud.B pron indéf peu lui font confiance few ou not many people trust him/her; il a écrit beaucoup de livres, peu lui survivront he has written many books, few will outlive him.C peu de dét indéf1 ( avec un nom dénombrable) peu de mots/d'occasions few words/opportunities;2 ( avec un nom non dénombrable) peu de temps/d'espoir little time/hope; en peu de temps in next to no time; j'ai peu de temps pour le faire I haven't got much time to do it; il y a peu de changement there's little change; il y a peu de bruit there's not much noise; il est tombé peu de neige/pluie cet hiver there hasn't been much snow/rain this winter; il a peu de patience he's not very patient; c'est peu de chose it's not much; cela représente peu de chose it stands for little; avec peu de chose elle a fait un repas délicieux with very little she made a delicious meal; on est bien peu de chose! we're so insignificant!; il y a peu de visiteurs/divergences there are few ou not many visitors/differences; très peu de personnes sont atteintes very few people are affected; en peu de mots/jours in a few words/days; je sais peu de choses sur lui I don't know much about him; il y a peu de chances qu'il accepte he's unlikely to accept; la proposition a peu de chances d'aboutir the proposal has little chance of getting through.D nm1 ( petite quantité) le peu de the little [importance, confiance, pluie, liberté]; the few [livres, souvenirs, amis]; il a oublié le peu d'anglais qu'il savait he's forgotten the ou what little English he knew; elle s'est fait voler le peu d'objets qu'il lui restait she was robbed of the few things she had left; je vais dépenser le peu d'argent qu'il me reste I'm going to spend the ou what little money I've got left; il a voulu montrer le peu d'importance qu'il attachait à l'affaire he wanted to show how unimportant the matter was to him; je leur ai dit le peu que je savais I told them the ou what little I knew; il a dépensé le peu qu'il lui restait he spent what little he had left;2 ( manque) le peu de the lack of; malgré le peu d'intérêt manifesté despite the lack of interest; j'ai remarqué ton peu d'enthousiasme I've noticed your lack of enthusiasm; ton peu d'appétit m'inquiète your lack of appetite is worrying me.E un peu loc adv1 ( dans une mesure faible) a little, a bit; mange un peu eat a little; cela m'inquiète/m'énerve/m'ennuie un peu it worries me/annoys me/bothers me a little ou a bit; ça m'agace plus qu'un peu○ it annoys me to say the least; le rôti est un peu brûlé the roast is a bit ou slightly burned; elle est un peu médium/poète○ she's a bit of a ou something of a medium/poet; tu ne serais pas un peu casse-cou? you're a bit of a daredevil, aren't you?; dors/attends/reste encore un peu sleep/wait/stay a little longer; ‘il a plu?’-‘pas qu'un peu○!’ ‘did it rain?’-‘did it ever○!’; ‘elle aime le fromage?’-‘oui, pas qu'un peu!’ ‘does she like cheese?’-‘does she ever○!’;2 ( modifiant un adverbe) a little, a bit; mange un peu plus/moins eat a bit more/less; parle un peu plus fort speak a little ou a bit louder; parle un peu moins fort keep your voice down; va un peu moins/plus vite go a bit slower/faster; il fait un peu moins froid qu'hier it's a little less cold than yesterday; il fait un peu plus froid qu'hier it's slightly ou a little colder than yesterday; un peu au-dessous/au-dessus de la moyenne slightly below/above average; elle se maquille un peu trop she wears a bit too much make-up; un peu plus de bruit/vent a bit more noise/wind; un peu plus de gens/problèmes a few more people/problems; un peu moins de slightly less [pluie, humour]; slightly fewer [gens, tableaux]; peux-tu me donner un tout petit peu plus de carottes can you give me just a few more carrots; amène tes amis, un peu plus un peu moins tu sais… bring your friends, another two or three people won't make much difference; donne-moi ton linge à laver, un peu plus un peu moins… give me your laundry, a bit more won't make any difference; ‘il avait l'air un peu contrarié’-‘un peu beaucoup même○’ ‘he looked a bit annoyed’-‘more than a bit’;3 ( emploi stylistique) just; arrête un peu de faire l'idiot! just stop behaving like an idiot!; répète un peu pour voir○! you just try saying that again!; vise un peu la perruque○! just look at the wig!; réfléchis un peu just think; je vous demande un peu○! I ask you!; il sait un peu de quoi il parle○ he does know what he's talking about;4 ( emploi par antiphrase) a little; tu ne serais pas un peu jaloux toi? aren't you just a little jealous?; ton histoire est un peu tirée par les cheveux your story is a little far-fetched to say the least; c'est un peu tard! it's a bit late!; tu exagères ou pousses○ un peu! you're pushing it a bit○!;5 ○( pour renforcer une affirmation) il est un peu bien ton copain! your boyfriend is a bit of all right○!; ‘tu le ferais toi?’-‘un peu (que je le ferais)!’ ‘would you do it?’-‘I sure would○!’; comme organisateur il se pose un peu là! as an organizer he's great!F peu à peu loc adv gradually, little by little; les nuages se dissiperont peu à peu the clouds will gradually clear.G pour un peu loc adv very nearly; pour un peu ils se seraient battus they very nearly had a fight; pour un peu il m'aurait insulté! he very nearly insulted me!H pour peu que loc conj if; pour peu qu'il ait bu, il va nous raconter sa vie if he's had anything at all to drink, he'll tell us his life story.[pø] adverbeA.[EMPLOYÉ SEUL]il mange/parle peu he doesn't eat/talk muchil vient très peu he comes very rarely, he very seldom comes2. [modifiant un adjectif, un adverbe etc] not verypeu après soon after, shortly ou not long afterB.[EMPLOI NOMINAL]1. (avec déterminant) [indiquant la faible quantité]il a raté son examen de peu (familier) he just failed his exam, he failed his exam by a hair's breadthc'est peu (que) de le dire, encore faut-il le faire! that's easier said than done!c'est peu dire that's an understatement, that's putting it mildly2. [dans le temps]ils sont partis il y a peu they left a short while ago, they haven't long leftd'ici peu very soon, before longje travaille ici depuis peu I've only been working here for a while, I haven't been working here long3. [quelques personnes] a few (people)C.[PRÉCÉDÉ DE 'UN']1. [modifiant un verbe]un peu a little, a bitje le connais un peu I know him a little ou a bitpose-lui un peu la question, et tu verras! just ask him, and you'll see!fais voir un peu... let me have a look...un peu que je vais lui dire ce que je pense! (familier) I'll give him a piece of my mind, don't you worry (about that)!2. [modifiant un adjectif, un adverbe etc]un peu a little, a bitun peu partout just about ou pretty much everywhereun peu plus a little ou bit morea. [suivi d'un nom comptable] a few moreb. [suivi d'un nom non comptable] a little (bit) moreun peu moins a little ou bit lessa. [suivi d'un nom comptable] slightly fewer, not so manyb. [suivi d'un nom non comptable] a little (bit) lessun peu trop a little ou bit too (much)un peu plus et on se serait cru au bord de la mer you could almost imagine that you were at the seasideun peu plus, et je partais I was just about to leavepeu à peu locution adverbialeon s'habitue, peu à peu you get used to things, bit by bit ou gradually————————peu de locution déterminantepeu de temps avant/après not long before/afterj'ai peu d'amis I have few friends, I don't have many friends2. [avec un déterminant]a. [suivi d'un nom comptable] the ou what fewb. [suivi d'un nom non comptable] the ou what littlele peu de connaissances que j'ai the ou what few acquaintances I havele peu de fois où je l'ai vu on the few ou rare occasions when I've seen himavec ce peu de matériel/d'idées with such limited material/ideaspeu ou prou locution adverbiale————————pour peu que locution conjonctivepour peu qu'il le veuille, il réussira if he wants to, he'll succeedpour un peu locution adverbialepour un peu, j'oubliais mes clés I nearly forgot my keys————————quelque peu locution adverbiale1. [modifiant un verbe] just a littleil était quelque peu éméché he was somewhat ou rather tipsy————————quelque peu de locution déterminante————————si peu que locution conjonctivesi peu que j'y aille, j'apprécie toujours beaucoup l'opéra although I don't go very often, I always like the opera very much————————si peu... que locution conjonctive————————sous peu locution adverbialevous recevrez sous peu les résultats de vos analyses you will receive the results of your tests in a short while————————un peu de locution déterminanteprends un peu de gâteau have a little ou some cakeavec un peu de chance... with a little luck...allons, un peu de patience! come on, let's be patient!avec un (tout) petit peu de bonne volonté... with (just) a little willingness...tu l'as quitté par dépit? — il y a un petit peu de ça so you left him in a fit of pique? — that was partly it ou that was part of the reason
См. также в других словарях:
The Carmelite Order — The Carmelite Order † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Carmelite Order One of the mendicant orders. Origin The date of the foundation of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been under discussion from the fourteenth century to … Catholic encyclopedia
List of characters in The Books of Magic — The Books of Magic was a four issue mini series published by DC Comics written by Neil Gaiman, later revived as an ongoing series written by John Ney Rieber (issues 1 50) and Peter Gross (issues 51 75). The comics told the story of Timothy Hunter … Wikipedia
Constitution of the Roman Republic — The Constitution of the Roman Republic was a set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent.[1] The constitution was largely unwritten, uncodified, and constantly evolving. Rather than creating a government that was… … Wikipedia
Liturgy of the Mass — Liturgy of the Mass † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Liturgy of the Mass A. Name and Definition The Mass is the complex of prayers and ceremonies that make up the service of the Eucharist in the Latin rites. As in the case of all… … Catholic encyclopedia
Witch trials in the Early Modern period — Punishments for witchcraft in 16th century Germany. Woodcut from Tengler s Laienspiegel, Mainz, 1508. The Witch trials in the Early Modern period were a period of witch hunts between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries,[1] when across Early… … Wikipedia
Ottoman System in the Balkans — By the early sixteenth century most of the Balkan Peninsula’s Christians were submerged within the Ottomans’ Islamic theocratic society. In traditional Islamic civilization, no separation existed between religious and secular matters, and… … Wikipedia
Defence of the Reich — Part of Campaigns of World War II … Wikipedia
World War II — the war between the Axis and the Allies, beginning on September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland and ending with the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, and of Japan on August 14, 1945. Abbr.: WWII * * * or Second World War (1939–45)… … Universalium
HEBREW GRAMMAR — The following entry is divided into two sections: an Introduction for the non specialist and (II) a detailed survey. [i] HEBREW GRAMMAR: AN INTRODUCTION There are four main phases in the history of the Hebrew language: the biblical or classical,… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
KABBALAH — This entry is arranged according to the following outline: introduction general notes terms used for kabbalah the historical development of the kabbalah the early beginnings of mysticism and esotericism apocalyptic esotericism and merkabah… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
japan — japanner, n. /jeuh pan /, n., adj., v., japanned, japanning. n. 1. any of various hard, durable, black varnishes, originally from Japan, for coating wood, metal, or other surfaces. 2. work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner. 3. Japans,… … Universalium