less

less · adverb, determiner, preposition, verb, adjective, noun¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromlesse
2. Middle English · inherited fromlessen
3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*laisiz“smaller, lesser, fewer, lower”
4. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*laisizan-
5. Old English · inherited fromlǣssa“less”
6. Middle English · inherited fromlees
7. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*leh₂is-
8. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*leys-“to shrink, grow thin, be gentle”
9. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*laisiz
10. Old English · inherited fromlǣs“smaller, less”
11. Middle English · inherited fromles
12. English todayless

Adverb from Middle English les, lesse, leasse, lasse, from Old English lǣs (“smaller, less”), from Proto-Germanic *laisiz, from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to shrink, grow thin, be gentle”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēs (“less”), Old Saxon lēs (“less”). According to Kroonen (2013), from a northern Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *leh₂is- or *leh₃is-, which he connects to Lithuanian liesas (“lean”). Determiner and preposition from Middle English lees, lesse, leasse, lasse, from Old English lǣssa (“less”), from Proto-Germanic *laisizan-, from Proto-Germanic *laisiz (“smaller, lesser, fewer, lower”) (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian lessa (“less”). Verb from Middle English lessen, from the determiner. Noun from Middle English lesse, from the determiner.

less · conjunction²

1. Old English · inherited fromlǣs
2. Middle English · inherited fromlesse
3. English todayless

From Middle English lesse, les, from Old English lǣs, as in þȳ lǣs þe.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 11th c. comparative form of little: more little; of inferior size, degree or extent; smaller, lesser.
• from 12th c. A smaller amount of; not as much.
• from 9th c. at latest Fewer; a smaller number of.