less

Betekenis

Adv

1. comparative degree of little
2. Used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs.
3. To a smaller extent or degree.

Det

1. comparative form of little: more little; of inferior size, degree or extent; smaller, lesser.
2. A smaller amount of; not as much.
3. Fewer; a smaller number of.

Prep

Minus; not including

Verb

To make less; to lessen.

Adj

Lesser; smaller.

Noun

A smaller amount or quantity.

Conj

unless

Uitgesproken als (IPA)

/lɛs/

Etymologie

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.

Zinnen

He looked around at the empty plaza again , feeling less desperate than before .

Hij keek weer om zich heen naar het lege plein en voelde zich minder wanhopig dan voorheen.

In Britain it flowers less profusely and even has a reputation for being tender .

In Groot -Brittannië bloeit het minder overvloedig en heeft het zelfs de reputatie teder te zijn.