'Small' once meant 'narrow' in Old English — every other Germanic language still uses the cognate for 'narrow.'
Of a size that is less than normal or usual; not great in amount, number, strength, or power.
From Old English 'smæl,' meaning 'thin, narrow, slender' (not 'small' in the modern sense), from Proto-Germanic *smalaz, meaning 'small, thin.' The word is related to German 'schmal' (narrow) and Old Norse 'smalr' (thin, narrow). In Old English, 'smæl' described narrowness and thinness rather than general smallness — the semantic shift to the broader modern meaning 'small in size' occurred during the Middle English period, gradually displacing the older word 'lȳtel' (little). Key roots: *smalaz (Proto-Germanic: "small, thin, narrow").
In Old English, 'smæl' meant 'thin' or 'narrow,' not 'small.' Its cognates in other Germanic languages still carry the older meaning: German 'schmal' means 'narrow,' not 'small.' The shift from 'narrow' to 'generally small' is a uniquely English development — the 'small of the back' preserves the old sense, referring to the narrow part.