Lesse

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. To grant the possession and use of land, a building, or other property to another person for a specified period in return for payment
2. To rent out property or equipment to someone else under a formal agreement for a fixed term and fee
3. To allow someone to occupy or use real estate or goods for a set duration in exchange for regular monetary compensation

Etymology: "Lesse" is simply the older spelling of "less," and it survives in the language mostly as a fossil. In Middle English the same word was spelled "les," "lesse," "leasse," and "lasse," and each of these was a way of writing one familiar comparison: something smaller in amount or degree. Its roots run back to Old English "lǣs," meaning "smaller" or "less," which is shared by Old Frisian and Old Saxon cousins across the North Sea. The word did double duty in Old English as both an adverb and a determiner. The determiner form, "lǣssa," went on to produce the modern English verb "lessen," which means to make smaller, and a noun sense that also drew on the same word. The adverb took the lead in ordinary speech, leaving "lesse" as an archaic spelling that lingers in older texts and in deliberate imitations of them.