GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Lesser , a. [This word is formed by adding anew the compar. suffix -er (in which r is from an original s) to less. See Less, a.] Less; smaller; inferior.
   1913 Webster
   God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night.
   Gen. i. 15.
   
   1913 Webster
   ☞ 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 (i. e., Asia Minor), 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.
   1913 Webster
   The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace.
   Shak.
   
   1913 Webster
   The larger here, and there the lesser lambs.
   Pope.
   
   1913 Webster
   By the same reason may a man, in the state of nature, punish the lesser breaches of the law.
   Locke.
   
   1913 Webster
   
         
       

2.       
   Lesser, adv. Less. [Obs.]
   Shak.
   
   1913 Webster