Etymograph

English

small-scale

From small + scale.

A compound of small + scale

Proto-Germanic *smalaz

Proto-West Germanic *smal

Old English smæl ‘narrow’

Middle English smal ‘small’

English small

Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’

Proto-Indo-European *(s)kn̥d-sleh₂

Proto-Italic *skand-slā

Latin scāla ‘ladder; stairs’

Middle English scale ‘ladder’

English scale

Today it means

adj Concerning a lower order of magnitude rather than a higher one.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “small-scale”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / small-scale