least
Part of speech: adj
det
adv
noun
pron
Morphological type: simple
Topics: human-sciences
philosophy
sciences
Etymology: The adjective, determiner, and noun are derived from Middle English leste, lest, last (“(adjective) smallest, least; (noun) smallest thing, etc.; person or thing least in importance; etc.”), from Old English lǣst, a contraction of læsast, læsest (“least”) (also lærest in only one source), from Proto-Germanic *laisistaz (“smallest, least”), from *laisiz (“less”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂is- or *leh₃is-; whence modern English less) + *-istaz (“suffix forming superlative forms of some adjectives”).
The adverb and pronoun are derived from the adjective or determiner.
cognates
* Old Frisian leist
* Old Saxon lēs
Inflected forms:
form: leasts
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
pos: adj
examples: least common multiple
Of two ils chose the least, while choise lyeth in lot.
At the end of it [a passage], tovvards the theatre, 'tis lighted by a ſmall candle, the light of vvhich is almoſt loſt before you get half-vvay dovvn, but near the door—'tis more for ornament than uſe: you ſee it as a fix'd ſtar of the leaſt magnitude; it burns—but does little good to the vvorld, that vve knovv of.
[T]he least part of the work of any sound art-teacher must be his talking.
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
pos: adj
examples: least weasel
The firſt is a very ſlender plant hauing a fevve ſmall leaues like the leaſt Chickvveede, grovving in little tufts, from the midſt vvhereof riſeth vp a ſmall ſtalke, nine inches long; […]
[T]he floures of a purple colour, ſpotted on the inſide vvith vvhite, and of a brighter purple than the reſt of the floure, faſhioned like the ſmallest Anirrhinum, or leaſt Snapdragon, […]
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
examples: [M]ans reaſon is ſo farre off from being the meaſurer of faith, vvhich very far exceedeth nature, that it is not ſo much as the meaſurer of nature, & of the leaſt creatures vvhich lie farre vnderneath man; becauſe of the ignorance and vntovvardnes vvhich is in vs and raigneth in vs.
But if I thriue, the gaine of my attempt, / The leaſt of you, ſhall ſhare his part thereof.
And thou Bethlehem in the land of Juda, art not the leaſt among the Princes of Juda: for out of thee ſhall come a Gouernour, that ſhall rule my people Iſrael.
Chiefly, vvhen this ſure ioy ſhall crovvne our ſide, / That the leaſt man, that falles vpon our party / This day […] / Shall vvalke at pleaſure, in the tents of reſt; […]
Take the least man of all mankind, as I; / Look at his head and heart, find how and why / He differs from his fellows utterly: […]
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
pos: det
examples: He earns the least money in his family.
Of all the sisters, she has the least patience.
Th' Italian Chiefs, and Princes, joyn their Povv'rs: / Nor leaſt in Number, nor in Name the laſt, / Your ovvn brave Subjects have your Cauſe embrac'd.
She begg'd I vvould try a ſingle pair [of gloves], vvhich ſeemed to be the leaſt—She held it open—my hand ſlipp'd into it at once— […]
The least water we could find there was 4 fathoms, which bears from the point S.E., and is distant 1½ mile.
“Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.
Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.
Comparison of the four bogie designs shows that the Rugby-built A.E.I. bogie has the least number of components and a minimum of metallic wearing surfaces.
Light does not need to know in advance which is the path of least time because it takes all paths from its source to its destination.
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
pos: det
examples: Whichever queue contains the least items by the time this logic branch is reached will be executed first.
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little.
pos: det
examples: not even the least amount
It is indicative of his true character that he could not manage to show even the least bit of courtesy in such a situation.
My ſelfe an vtter ſtranger, one from vvhom / You neuer had, or can expect leaſt good.
So vvithout leaſt impulſe or ſhadovv of Fate, / Or aught by me immutablie foreſeen, / They treſpaſs, Authors to themſelves in all / Both vvhat they judge and vvhat they chooſe; […]
[H]e came alone; neither did any man meet him vvith the leaſt incouragement.
The little Pieces of Beef vvere like Plums in our Hodg-podg. Indeed 'tvvas not fit to be eaten any other vvay; for tho' it did not ſtink, yet it vvas very unſavory and black, vvithout the leaſt ſign of Fat in it: […]
It was a very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night. He was obliged to sit close to it, and brood over it, before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel.
"Any chance of our being taken off and rescued?" / "Not the least," said Bevis.
gloss: In a degree below all others; in the lowest or smallest degree.
pos: adv
tags: negative
superlative
examples: My best routine was the one I had practised the least.
I don’t much like housework, and doing the dishes least of all.
That decision rewards those who least deserve it.
gloss: Used to form superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est.
pos: adv
tags: negative
superlative
examples: It was the least surprising thing.
gloss: Preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little; the lowest-ranking or most insignificant person or (sometimes) group of people.
pos: noun
examples: even the least of
The pastor preached that even the least of God’s creatures deserves freedom from needless or idle cruelty.
Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.
gloss: Something of the smallest possible extent; an indivisible unit; a minimum.
pos: noun
gloss: Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little; the smallest amount or extent of something.
pos: pron
examples: I’m giving least of all towards her present.
To have demolished and rebuilt the walls, would have been a very costly expedient, and as the least of two evils, the painter's brush was resorted to; here and there however, above some of the windows, the black wreathings of the smoke are still discernible through the white covering.
Derived words: Antigua least gecko
at very least
Fermat's principle of least time
least auklet
least bittern
least boobook
least common denominator
least common multiple
least count
least finger
least flycatcher
least resistance
least sandpiper
least shrew
least significant bit
least significant byte
least squares
least tern
least upper bound
least weasel
least willow
line of least resistance
log-linear least-squares method
method of least squares
path of least resistance
principle of least action
principle of least astonishment
principle of least knowledge
principle of least surprise
principle of least time
alderleast
at least
at the least
at the very least
in the least
last but not least
leastness
least of all
leastwise
least worst
not in the least
not least
to say the least
Translations: