small-screen

the compound "small-screen" is a modern english formation, directly contrasting with "big-screen" or "silver screen" used for cinema. the adjective "small" originates from proto-germanic smalaz, conveying the sense of being narrow or limited in extent. "screen" derives from old north french escren, a word for a protective shield or partition, which later evolved to mean the surface on which images are projected or displayed. when combined in the mid-20th century, the term "small-screen" logically employed the literal descriptor "small" for the typical home television set's display, as opposed to the large screen of a movie theater, to metaphorically represent the medium of television broadcasting and its associated content.

Structure: small (limited in size) + screen (display surface) small (from old english smæl, meaning narrow or slender; functional role: attributive adjective) + screen (from middle english screne, meaning a protective partition; functional role: noun used attributively)