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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Lesser \Less"er\, adv.
Less. [Obs.] --Shak.
[1913 Webster]


Lesser \Less"er\ (l[e^]s"[~e]r), 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.
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God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night.
--Gen. i. 15.
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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 (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.
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The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace.
--Shak.
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The larger here, and there the lesser lambs.
--Pope.
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By the same reason may a man, in the state of
nature, punish the lesser breaches of the law.
--Locke.
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