Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for LESS
LESS, v.
A terminating syllable of many nouns and some adjectives, is the Sax. leas, Goth. laus, belonging to the verb lysan, lausyan, to loose, free, separate. Hence it is a privative word, denoting destitution; as, a witless man, a man destitute of wit; childless, without children; fatherless; faithless; pennyless; lawless, &c.
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