less: [OE] In origin, less is a comparative form. It goes back ultimately to Indo-European *loiso- ‘small’, which in prehistoric Germanic had the comparative suffix added to it to produce *laisiz – whence English less. It is not found in any of the other modern Germanic languages. => least
less
Old English l?s (adv.), l?ssa (adj.), comparative of l?s "small;" from Proto-Germanic *lais-izo "smaller" (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Frisian les "less;" Middle Dutch lise "soft, gentle," German leise "soft"), from PIE root *leis- (2) "small" (cognates: Lithuanian liesas "thin"). Formerly also "younger," as a translation of Latin minor, a sense now obsolete except in James the Less. Used as a comparative of little, but not related to it. The noun is Old English l?sse.
雙語例句
1. The affixes " un - " and " - less " are often used make negative words, such as unhappy or careless.
詞綴un - 和 -less 常用來構成否定詞, 如unhappy和careless.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
2. These files have been zipped up to take up less disk space.
這些文檔已經進行了壓縮，以節省磁盤空間。
來自柯林斯例句
3. He is lined up for no less than four US television interviews.
多達4家美國電視媒體排期邀請他上節目接受采訪。
來自柯林斯例句
4. Other amenities, less commonly available, include a library and exercise room.
還有一些不太常有的設施，包括圖書館和健身房。
來自柯林斯例句
5. His team-mates opened hotel windows, shouting "Jump!" and somewhat less printable banter.