(comparative of `few' used with count nouns) quantifier meaning a smaller number of
"fewer birds came this year"
"the birds are fewer this year"
"fewer trains were late"
comparative degree of few; a smaller number.
"There are fewer apples left in the basket than there were yesterday."
Fewer comes from Middle English, where it was formed by adding the comparative suffix "-er" to the word "few." This construction created a term specifically used for comparing smaller quantities of countable items.