lesser



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:


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



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:


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.
   [1913 Webster]

         God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night.
                                                  --Gen. i. 15.
   [1913 Webster]

   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.
         [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]














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