מָעַט

mâʻaṭ. a primitive root; properly, to pare off, i.e. lessen; intransitively, to be (or causatively, to make) small or few (or figuratively, ineffective); suffer to decrease, diminish, (be, [idiom] borrow a, give, make) few (in number, -ness), gather least (little), be (seem) little, ([idiom] give the) less, be minished, bring to nothing.