woman of few words
1
5.1
- noun
- Informal
:
mujer de pocas palabras
- Mama Kadi was a woman of few words.
Examples
-
Despite being a woman of few words, she managed to convey her feelings through her actions.
-
I am a woman of few words.
Blog text (27) -
This episode emphasized that Michonne is a woman of few words, like a prototypical male hero.
Blog text (21) -
She may not say much, but she is truly a woman of few words whose thoughts carry great weight.
-
During the meeting, I found her to be a woman of few words, but her insights were very valuable.
Antonyms
How Talkative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a woman who speaks very little' is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents: 'woman' (adult female) + 'of few' (having a small number) + 'words' (utterances), i.e. a woman who uses few words. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'mujer de pocas palabras'), so an average B1 learner who knows the individual words will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Woman of few words paints a simple picture: a woman who uses few words, so she speaks little and seems thoughtful or reserved. That's why the phrase means 'a woman who speaks very little' and often suggests 'thoughtfulness' or 'reserve'.