less

Pronunciation

• IPA: /les/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lesse, earlier læsse (about 1125),^[2] inherited from Old English lǣs (“less (adverb)”) and lǣssa (“less, smaller (adjective)”), which fused in Middle English.^[2][3][4] Both come from Proto-Germanic *laisiz, a comparative formation.^[2][5] Its cognates are Old Frisian lēs (“less”) and Old Saxon lēs (“less”), and, with another sense, Middle High German līse and modern German leise (“soft, gentle”).^[2][6] Outside Germanic it is related to Lithuanian liesas (“thin”) and Ancient Greek λοῖσθος (loîsthos, “last”),^[2][5][7] from Proto-Indo-European *leis- (“small”).^[6][2] It serves as the comparative of little but is not related to it.^[6][8][9] least is the matching superlative.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English lǣs was an adverb meaning “less” (before 725) and also a conjunction “lest”,^[2][6] and lǣssa an adjective meaning “smaller, fewer” (about 725, in Beowulf).^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

From the first the adverb was often used with negatives, as in none the less.^[6] Less also meant “younger”, translating Latin minor, a sense that survives only in St James the Less;^[6][10] the Middle English adjective læsse (about 1125) meant “the younger or less important”.^[2] Much less “still less” is from the 1630s.^[6] The preposition “minus, with the deduction of” is dated to the 15th century by MW^[11][4] and to 1623 by the HTOED.^[12] Less as a conjunction, short for unless, is early 15th century, and the American dialect lessen or less'n is from 1881.^[6] The double comparative lesser appeared about 1225, and lessen “to make less” about 1380.^[2]

Timeline

• before 725 – Old English adverb lǣs.^[2]
• c. 725 – adjective lǣssa (Beowulf).^[2]
• c. 1000 – noun lǣsse.^[2]
• c. 1125 – læsse, younger or less important.^[2]
• c. 1225 – lesser.^[2]
• c. 1380 – lessen.^[2]
• early 15th century – conjunction, short for unless.^[6]
• 15th century – preposition, minus.^[11][4]
• 1630s – much less.^[6]
• 1881 – lessen, less'n (American dialect).^[6]

Modern meaning

Determiner

1. A smaller amount of; not as much: less sugar.
2. Fewer in number: less than ten people.
3. Lower in rank or importance: no less a person than the president.

Adverb

1. To a smaller extent or degree: less often.

Pronoun

1. A smaller amount: she has less than she needs.

Preposition

1. Minus; with the deduction of: a year less a day.

Word family

• natheless
• nonetheless
• nevertheless
• much less
• more or less

Related words

• least
• lest
• unless
• lesser
• lessen
• fewer

Usage notes

Usage guides traditionally limit less to mass and abstract nouns (less sugar, less honesty) and require fewer before plural nouns (fewer words), except for units such as sums or distances (less than $50).^[13] RHWU notes that less has been used with plurals since King Alfred, and that before than it is now at least as common as fewer with plural nouns.^[13]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2008), 11th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
13. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House