little/few
oligos marks a limited number, amount, duration, or degree, often set against what is greater or more numerous.
The term most often marks a restricted quantity of people or things; it also describes limited duration or distance and, in scalar statements, a lesser degree or value. In clauses where that limitation is negated, the APB presents the resulting statement as “no small” disturbance, controversy, or work.
Senses in use
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A limited number or amount · dominant
Plural forms identify restricted groups or sets: in Matthew 9:37 the APB renders the contrast between a plentiful harvest and workers who are “few,” and in Mark 8:7 it describes a limited supply of fish. The same use occurs with those saved in 1 Peter 3:20, people chosen in Matthew 22:14, and names in Sardis in Revelation 3:4.
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A restricted interval or distance · common
Neuter singular forms occur in clauses concerning extent: in Luke 5:3 the APB renders movement out from land “a little,” while in James 4:14 life appears “for a little while” before vanishing. The term similarly qualifies suffering, remaining, rest, and a period of rule in the cited verses.
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A lesser degree, value, or scale · occasional
The term can gauge a lesser measure rather than count items. In 1 Timothy 4:8 the APB renders bodily training as being “of little value,” and in Luke 7:47 the clauses contrast loving much with loving little. In Acts 12:18 and Acts 19:23, negation of the adjective is reflected in “no small disturbance,” describing the scale of the disturbance rather than a limited group.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB commonly uses “few,” “a few,” “little,” and “a little,” and it uses “short” or “brief” for limited extent. In negated scalar clauses it renders the result as “no small”; these are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.