I have often seen the term Hinayana. What docs this term mean?

QUESTION: I have often seen the term Hinayana. What docs this term mean?
ANSWER: When Mahayana was developing it wanted to distinguish itself from the earlier schools of Buddhism so it called itself Mahayana, the Great Way, and dubbed the earlier schools Hinayana, meaning the Little Way. Therefore, Hinayana is a somewhat sectarian term that Mahayanists give to Theravadins.