-less

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Less \Less\, v. t.
   To make less; to lessen. [Obs.] --Gower.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
-less \-less\ (-l[e^]s) suff. [AS. le['a]s loose, false; akin to
   OS. l[=o]s loose, false, D. los loose, loos false, sly, G.
   los loose, Icel. lauss loose, vacant, Goth. laus empty, vain,
   and also to E. loose, lose. [root]127. See {Lose}, and cf.
   {Loose}, {Leasing}.]
   A privative adjective suffix, denoting without, destitute of,
   not having; as witless, childless, fatherless.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Less \Less\ (l[e^]s), conj.
   Unless. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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;
   inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less size
   or value; in less time than before.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: The substantive which less qualifies is often omitted;
         as, the purse contained less (money) than ten dollars.
         See {Less}, n.
         [1913 Webster]

               Thus in less [time] than a hundred years from the
               coming of Augustine, all England became
               Christian.                         --E. A.
                                                  Freeman.
         [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Less \Less\, adv. [AS. l[=ae]s. See {Less}, adj., and cf.
   {Lest}.]
   Not so much; in a smaller or lower degree; as, less bright or
   loud; less beautiful.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Less \Less\, n.
   1. A smaller portion or quantity.
      [1913 Webster]

            The children of Israel did so, and gathered, some
            more, some less.                      --Ex. xvi. 17.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The inferior, younger, or smaller.
      [1913 Webster]

            The less is blessed of the better.    --Heb. vii. 7.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
89 Moby Thesaurus words for "less":
      abated, ablated, at a disadvantage, at the nadir, attenuated,
      barring, bated, belittled, below, below the mark, common, consumed,
      contracted, curtailed, decreased, decreasingly, decrescendo,
      deflated, demeaning, diminished, diminishingly, diminuendo,
      disadvantaged, discounting, dissipated, dropped, eroded, ever less,
      except, excepting, exception taken of, excluding, exclusive of,
      fallen, fewer, from, humble, in the gutter, in the shade, inferior,
      infra dig, junior, least, least of all, leaving out, less and less,
      lesser, low, lower, lowered, lowly, miniaturized, minor, minus,
      modest, not counting, not so much, off, ordinary, reduced,
      retrenched, sans, save, scaled-down, second rank, second string,
      secondary, servile, shorn, short of, shorter, shrunk, shrunken,
      smaller, sub, subaltern, subject, subordinate, subservient,
      third rank, third string, under, under par, underprivileged,
      vulgar, watered-down, weakened, without, worn

    

[email protected]