lest
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]c. 1200, contracted from Middle English les te (“less that”), from Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”), from þȳ (instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt “that”) + lǣs (“less”) + þe (“that,” relative particle). The þȳ was dropped and the remaining two words contracted into leste.[1]
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /lɛst/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛst
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /liːst/[2]
- (Early Modern) IPA(key): /lɛst/, /lɛːst/[3]
Conjunction
[edit]- For fear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case.
- Synonym: (informal) before
- He won't go outside, lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles.
- I brought my notes lest faulty memory lead me astray.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 15, column 2:
- I thought to haue told thee of it, but I fear'd / Leaſt I might anger thee.
- 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 565:
- And then Robert Loo came out swiftly with the half-filled jar lest more be said.
- 1967, “I Am a Lonesome Hobo”, in Bob Dylan (music), John Wesley Harding[2]:
- Stay free from petty jealousies / Live by no man's code / And hold your judgment for yourself / Lest you wind up on this road
- 2013 July 27, “Lunacy?”, in The Economist[3], volume 408, number 8846:
- Lest any astrologer reading this result get cocky, Dr Cajochen does not believe that what he has found is directly influenced by the Moon through, say, some tidal effect. What he thinks he has discovered is an additional hand on the body’s clock-face.
- (after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension) that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.)
- There was danger/alarm lest the plan become known.
- I am afraid lest I revealed too much.
- 1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], →OCLC, page 81:
- That you and I should be in the same house together and not able to speak to each other is in itself a misery, but this is terribly enhanced by the dread lest this state of things should be made to continue.
- 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- [M]y ward, or rather my adopted son Leo Vincey and myself have recently passed through a real African adventure, of a nature so much more marvellous than the one which you describe, that to tell the truth I am almost ashamed to submit it to you lest you should disbelieve my tale.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
- Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
Usage notes
[edit]- This word has become archaic for many English speakers.
- lest is usually followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood in either the present or future tense.
- For example:
- Lest they be captured, the soldiers fled from the battlefield.
- Let him attend the ceremony which commemorates the achievements of his ancestors, lest he forget.
- In the future tense, when it is differentiated from the present, it is usually combined with should:
- Let us get to the station early, lest we should miss our connection.
- For example:
Translations
[edit]
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “lest”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ “Lest” in John Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary […] , London: Sold by G. G. J. and J. Robinſon, Paternoſter Row; and T. Cadell, in the Strand, 1791, →OCLC, page 325.
- ^ Dobson, E. J. (1957) English pronunciation 1500-1700[1], second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 8, page 471.
Anagrams
[edit]Czech
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lьstь, from Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (lists), from Proto-Germanic *listiz.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]lest f
Declension
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “lest”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “lest”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
- “lest”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)
Anagrams
[edit]Dutch
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio: (file)
Verb
[edit]lest
- inflection of lessen:
French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Old French last, lest, from Old Dutch last, from Proto-Germanic *hlastuz.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]lest m (plural lests)
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “lest”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
[edit]German
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]lest
- inflection of lesen:
Hungarian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]lest
Icelandic
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle Low German last.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]lest f (genitive singular lestar, nominative plural lestir)
- train, file, row, line
- Synonym: röð
- railway train
- Synonym: járnbrautarlest
- cargo hold
- ton
- Synonym: tonn
- (obsolete) cargo, burden, load
Declension
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]- bílalest (“convoy of cars”)
- hraðlest (“high speed train”)
- járnbrautarlest (“railroad train”)
- neðanjarðarlest (“underground train”)
- rúmlest (“register ton”)
- skipalest (“convoy of ships”)
- smálest (“metric ton”)
- snarlest (“rapid transit train”)
- ulfaldalest (“convoy of camels”)
Related terms
[edit]- lesta (“to load, to fill with cargo”)
Norwegian Bokmål
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]lest
Etymology 2
[edit]From Old Norse leistr, from Proto-Germanic *laistaz.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]lest m (definite singular lesten, indefinite plural lester, definite plural lestene)
- a last (a tool in the shape of a human foot, for shaping or preserving the shape of shoes)
- (clothing) the foot-part of a stocking
Alternative forms
[edit]- (non-standard since 2005) leist
Etymology 3
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]lest (present tense lest, past tense lest)
- form removed with the spelling reform of 2005; superseded by less
References
[edit]- “lest” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Anagrams
[edit]Norwegian Nynorsk
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]From Old Norse leistr m,[1] from Proto-Germanic *laistaz m (“track, trace; footprint”), from Proto-Indo-European *lóystos, from the root *leys- (“to trace, track”). Akin to English last, Swedish läst, and German Leisten.
Alternative forms
[edit]Noun
[edit]lest m (definite singular lesten, indefinite plural lestar, definite plural lestane)
- a last (a tool in the shape of a human foot, for shaping or preserving the shape of shoes)
- (clothing) the foot-part of a stocking
Derived terms
[edit]Etymology 2
[edit]From Old Norse lest f, from either Old English hlæst,[2] Old Frisian hlest,[2] or Middle Low German last.[1] In any case, from Proto-Germanic *hlastuz and Doublet of last m.
Noun
[edit]lest m (definite singular lesten, indefinite plural lester or lestar, definite plural lestene or lestane)
- (historical) An old measure of volume, about 12 to 24 barrels.
- (historical) An old measure of weight, about half up until a full dozen skippund.
- (historical, nautical) An old unit of measure on the freight capacity of a ship.
Derived terms
[edit]Etymology 3
[edit]See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
[edit]lest
Etymology 4
[edit]From the verb leiste (“to grow over”).
Noun
[edit]lest m (definite singular lesten, indefinite plural lestar, definite plural lestane)
References
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Romanian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Noun
[edit]lest n (plural lesturi)
Declension
[edit]singular | plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | ||
nominative-accusative | lest | lestul | lesturi | lesturile | |
genitive-dative | lest | lestului | lesturi | lesturilor | |
vocative | lestule | lesturilor |
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛst
- Rhymes:English/ɛst/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English conjunctions
- English formal terms
- English literary terms
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English subordinating conjunctions
- Czech terms inherited from Proto-Slavic
- Czech terms derived from Proto-Slavic
- Czech terms derived from Gothic
- Czech terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Czech terms with audio pronunciation
- Czech lemmas
- Czech nouns
- Czech feminine nouns
- Czech mixed i-stem feminine nouns
- Czech mixed i-stem feminine nouns (type 'pěst')
- Czech nouns with reducible stem
- Dutch terms with audio pronunciation
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch verb forms
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms derived from Old Dutch
- French terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German non-lemma forms
- German verb forms
- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ɛʃt
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ɛʃt/1 syllable
- Hungarian non-lemma forms
- Hungarian noun forms
- Icelandic terms derived from Middle Low German
- Icelandic 1-syllable words
- Icelandic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ɛst
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ɛst/1 syllable
- Icelandic lemmas
- Icelandic nouns
- Icelandic feminine nouns
- Icelandic terms with obsolete senses
- Norwegian Bokmål terms with IPA pronunciation
- Norwegian Bokmål non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Bokmål verb forms
- Norwegian Bokmål terms inherited from Old Norse
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Bokmål terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
- nb:Clothing
- Norwegian Bokmål verbs
- Norwegian Bokmål deponent verbs
- Norwegian Bokmål pre-2005 forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *leys-
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk masculine nouns
- nn:Clothing
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Old English
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Old Frisian
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Middle Low German
- Norwegian Nynorsk doublets
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms with historical senses
- nn:Nautical
- Norwegian Nynorsk non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk verb forms
- nn:Tools
- nn:Units of measure
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns