Word Meanings - LESSER - Book Publishers vocabulary database

Less; smaller; inferior. God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night. Gen. i. 15. Note: Lesser is used for less, now the compar. of little, in certain special instances in which its employment has become established by custom; as, Lesser Asia

Additional info about word: LESSER

Less; smaller; inferior. God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night. Gen. i. 15. Note: Lesser is used for less, now the compar. of little, in certain special instances in which its employment has become established by custom; as, Lesser Asia , the lesser light, and some others; also in poetry, for the sake of the meter, and in prose where its use renders the passage more euphonious. The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace. Shak. The larger here, and there the lesser lambs. Pope. By the same reason may a man, in the state of nature, punish the lesser breaches of the law. Locke.

Related words: (words related to LESSER)

• NIGHT-FARING
  Going or traveling in the night. Gay.
• LIGHT
  licht, OHG. lioht, Goth. liuhap, Icel. lj, L. lux light, lucere to 1. That agent, force, or action in nature by the operation of which upon the organs of sight, objects are rendered visible or luminous. Note: Light was regarded formerly
• COMPARATIVELY
  According to estimate made by comparison; relatively; not positively or absolutely. With but comparatively few exceptions. Prescott.
• COMPARE
  To inflect according to the degrees of comparison; to state positive, comparative, and superlative forms of; as, most adjectives of one syllable are compared by affixing "-er" and "-est" to the positive form; as, black, blacker, blackest; those
• NIGHTMAN
  One whose business is emptying privies by night.
• INFERIORLY
  In an inferior manner, or on the inferior part.
• LIGHTSOME
  1. Having light; lighted; not dark or gloomy; bright. White walls make rooms more lightsome than black. Bacon. 2. Gay; airy; cheering; exhilarating. That lightsome affection of joy. Hooker. -- Light"some*ly, adv. -- Light"some*ness, n. Happiness
• LIGHTNESS
  The state, condition, or quality, of being light or not heavy; buoyancy; levity; fickleness; delicacy; grace. Syn. -- Levity; volatility; instability; inconstancy; unsteadiness; giddiness; flightiness; airiness; gayety; liveliness; agility;
• LIGHT-ARMED
  Armed with light weapons or accouterments.
• LIGHTERAGE
  1. The price paid for conveyance of goods on a lighter. 2. The act of unloading into a lighter, or of conveying by a lighter.
• LITTLENESS
  The state or quality of being little; as, littleness of size, thought, duration, power, etc. Syn. -- Smallness; slightness; inconsiderableness; narrowness; insignificance; meanness; penuriousness.
• COMPARTMENT
  One of the sections into which the hold of a ship is divided by water-tight bulkheads. (more info) 1. One of the parts into which an inclosed portion of space is divided, as by partitions, or lines; as, the compartments of a cabinet, a house, or
• LIGHT-O'-LOVE
  1. An old tune of a dance, the name of which made it a proverbial expression of levity, especially in love matters. Nares. "Best sing it to the tune of light-o'-love." Shak. 2. Hence: A light or wanton woman. Beau. & Fl.
• CUSTOM
  Long-established practice, considered as unwritten law, and resting for authority on long consent; usage. See Usage, and Prescription. Note: Usage is a fact. Custom is a law. There can be no custom without usage, though there may be usage without
• NIGHTLONG
  Lasting all night.
• LIGHT-FOOT; LIGHT-FOOTED
  Having a light, springy step; nimble in running or dancing; active; as, light-foot Iris. Tennyson.
• BECOME
  happen; akin to D. bekomen, OHG.a piquëman, Goth. biquiman to come 1. To pass from one state to another; to enter into some state or condition, by a change from another state, or by assuming or receiving new properties or qualities, additional
• WHICHEVER; WHICHSOEVER
  Whether one or another; whether one or the other; which; that one which; as, whichever road you take, it will lead you to town.
• LIGHTHOUSE
  A tower or other building with a powerful light at top, erected at the entrance of a port, or at some important point on a coast, to serve as a guide to mariners at night; a pharos.
• COMPARER
  One who compares.
• KNIGHTLESS
  Unbecoming a knight. "Knightless guile." Spenser.
• ALLNIGHT
  Light, fuel, or food for the whole night. Bacon.
• UNEMPLOYMENT
  Quality or state of being not employed; -- used esp. in economics, of the condition of various social classes when temporarily thrown out of employment, as those engaged for short periods, those whose trade is decaying, and those least competent.
• SLIGHTNESS
  The quality or state of being slight; slenderness; feebleness; superficiality; also, formerly, negligence; indifference; disregard.
• UNKNIGHT
  To deprive of knighthood. Fuller.
• DELIGHTING
  Giving delight; gladdening. -- De*light"ing*ly, adv. Jer. Taylor.
• ACCUSTOMARILY
  Customarily.
• DRUMMOND LIGHT
  A very intense light, produced by turning two streams of gas, one oxygen and the other hydrogen, or coal gas, in a state of ignition, upon a ball of lime; or a stream of oxygen gas through a flame of alcohol upon a ball or disk of lime; -- called
• ASCERTAINMENT
  The act of ascertaining; a reducing to certainty; a finding out by investigation; discovery. The positive ascertainment of its limits. Burke.
• ASCERTAINABLE
  That may be ascertained. -- As`cer*tain"a*ble*ness, n. -- As`cer*tain"a*bly, adv.
• MIDNIGHT SUN
  The sun shining at midnight in the arctic or antarctic summer.
• ACCUSTOMEDNESS
  Habituation. Accustomedness to sin hardens the heart. Bp. Pearce.
• SEVENNIGHT
  A week; any period of seven consecutive days and nights. See Sennight.
• FORTNIGHT
  The space of fourteen days; two weeks. (more info) nights, our ancestors reckoning time by nights and winters; so, also,
• DELIGHTLESS
  Void of delight. Thomson.