E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Little.
Little by little. Gradually; a little at a time.
1
Many a little makes a mickle. The real Scotch proverb is: “A wheen o’ mickles mak’s a muckle,” where mickle means little, and muckle much; but the Anglo-Saxon micel or mycel means “much,” so that, if the Scotch proverb is accepted, we must give a forced meaning to the word “mickle.”
