less

less
I. adjective, comparative of (I)little Etymology: Middle English, partly from Old English lǣs, adverb & noun; partly from lǣssa, adjective; akin to Old Frisian lēs less Date: before 12th century 1. constituting a more limited number or amount <
less than three
>
<
less than half done
>
2. of lower rank, degree, or importance <
no less a person than the president himself
>
3. a. of reduced size, extent, or degree b. more limited in quantity <
in less time
>
Usage: The traditional view is that less applies to matters of degree, value, or amount and modifies collective nouns, mass nouns, or nouns denoting an abstract whole while fewer applies to matters of number and modifies plural nouns. Less has been used to modify plural nouns since the days of King Alfred and the usage, though roundly decried, appears to be increasing. Less is more likely than fewer to modify plural nouns when distances, sums of money, and a few fixed phrases are involved <
less than 100 miles
>
<
an investment of less than $2000
>
<
in 25 words or less
>
and as likely as fewer to modify periods of time <
in less (or fewer) than four hours
>
. II. adverb, comparative of (II)little Date: before 12th century to a lesser extent or degree III. noun (plural less) Date: before 12th century 1. a smaller portion or quantity 2. something of less importance IV. preposition Date: 15th century diminished by ; minus

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • less — less·est; less·ness; let·ter·less; li·cense·less; lid·less; life·less; life·less·ly; life·less·ness; light·less; light·less·ness; limb·less; lime·less; lim·it·less; line·less; lint·less; lip·less; list·less; list·less·ly; list·less·ness;… …   English syllables

  • less — [ les ] function word *** Less is the comparative form of the function word little and can be used in the following ways: as a determiner (before a noun): Eat less fat. Schools put less emphasis on being creative. as a pronoun: Connie did less… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Less — Less, X Terminal Basisdaten Entwickler: Mark Nudelman Aktuelle Version: 429 (11. April 2009) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • less — Less, X Terminal Basisdaten Entwickler Mark Nudelman Aktuelle Version 4 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • less — Fichier log de la commnande emerge de gentoo affiché par less dans un terminal xfce …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Less — est une commande Unix permettant de visualiser un fichier texte page par page (sans le modifier). Sa fonction est similaire à la commande more, mais permet en plus de revenir en arrière ou de rechercher une chaîne. Contrairement à vi (qui permet… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Less — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda less Captura de less en un terminal X. Desarrollador Mark Nudelman …   Wikipedia Español

  • Less — Вывод less в X Терминал Тип Системная утилита Разработчик Mark Nudelman ОС …   Википедия

  • less — [les] adj. [ME les < OE læs, adv. læssa, adj. (used as compar. of lytel, LITTLE), akin to OFris les < IE * leis < base * lei , to diminish, meager, > LITTLE] 1. alt. compar. of LITTLE 2. not so much; smaller in size or amount [to… …   English World dictionary

  • less — Captura de less en un terminal X. Desarrollador Mark Nudelman [1] …   Wikipedia Español

  • Less — Less, a. [OE. lesse, AS. l[=ae]ssa; akin to OFries. l[=e]ssa; a compar. from a lost positive form. Cf. {Lesser}, {Lest}, {Least}. Less has the sense of the comparative degree of little.] Smaller; not so large or great; not so much; shorter;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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