less English · revision 2038

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 725 (adverb), c. 725 (adjective, Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *laisiz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /les/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lesse]], earlier [[m|enm|læsse]] (about 1125),^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|lǣs|t=less (adverb)]] and [[m|ang|lǣssa|t=less, smaller (adjective)]], which fused in Middle English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) Both come from [[gem-pro|*laisiz]], a comparative formation.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Its cognates are [[ofs|lēs|t=less]] and [[osx|lēs|t=less]], and, with another sense, [[gmh|līse]] and modern [[de|leise|t=soft, gentle]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Outside Germanic it is related to [[lt|liesas|t=thin]] and [[grc|λοῖσθος|tr=loîsthos|t=last]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from [[ine-pro|*leis-|t=small]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It serves as the comparative of [[little]] but is not related to it.^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(Chambers 2008) [[least]] is the matching superlative.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English ''lǣs'' was an adverb meaning “less” (before 725) and also a conjunction “lest”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''lǣssa'' an adjective meaning “smaller, fewer” (about 725, in ''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the first the adverb was often used with negatives, as in ''none the less''.^(Etymonline) ''Less'' also meant “younger”, translating Latin ''minor'', a sense that survives only in ''St James the Less'';^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) the Middle English adjective ''læsse'' (about 1125) meant “the younger or less important”.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Much less'' “still less” is from the 1630s.^(Etymonline) The preposition “minus, with the deduction of” is dated to the 15th century by MW^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024) and to 1623 by the HTOED.^(HTOED) ''Less'' as a conjunction, short for [[unless]], is early 15th century, and the American dialect ''lessen'' or ''less'n'' is from 1881.^(Etymonline) The double comparative [[lesser]] appeared about 1225, and [[lessen]] “to make less” about 1380.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 725 – Old English adverb ''lǣs''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 725 – adjective ''lǣssa'' (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – noun ''lǣsse''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1125 – ''læsse'', younger or less important.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1225 – ''lesser''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1380 – ''lessen''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 15th century – conjunction, short for ''unless''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 15th century – preposition, minus.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1630s – ''much less''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1881 – ''lessen'', ''less'n'' (American dialect).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Determiner===

+ # A smaller amount of; not as much: ''less sugar''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Fewer in number: ''less than ten people''.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # Lower in rank or importance: ''no less a person than the president''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # To a smaller extent or degree: ''less often''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # A smaller amount: ''she has less than she needs''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Preposition===

+ # Minus; with the deduction of: ''a year less a day''.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==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'').^(RHWU) 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.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}