no lessadj.adv.n.pron.
/nəʊ ˈlɛs/, U.S. /ˈnoʊ ˈləs/ A. adj. (determiner).In modern English, when used with a singular count noun, no less precedes the indefinite article.
1. Of no smaller magnitude or extent. Now rare.
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OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) i. ii. 74 Se mona ne beo þy dæges na læssa þonne fiftyne nihta ne þæs dæges na yldra þonne an & twentig nihta.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. iii. 201 I durst haue leyde my lyf, and no lasse wedde, He shulde haue be lorde of þat londe.
1417 in M. Sellers York Memorandum Bk. (1912) I. 182 He sall take hym for na lesse terme than for a twelmonth.
1777 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions VI. cxx. 30 The earings were no trifles in point of price.., bearing no less a valuation than 200 guineas.
1879 W. E. Gladstone Gleanings Past Years II. v. 235 He spoke no less a number of them than twenty-three.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 14 Dec. 11/2 The Borough Council includes no less a sum than £2,000 for snow removal and the gritting of the roads.
1991 Mental Health Professional & Legal Syst. iii. 23 While civil cases permit more discovery of facts and opinions prior to the trial,..their process is no less adversarial and no less a threat to the therapist-patient dyad.
2. As much; not a smaller amount of. Usually with than.
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c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 909 A womman may in no lasse synne assemblen with hire godsib than with hire owene flesshly brother.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 104v For no lasse wondir is of vertues plentevousnesse of þe erþe in beringe and bringinge forþe of herbes..þan hit is to wondringe of clerenes of heuene.
1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iv. f. 47 They fall downe to the earth, with great noise, to ye great feare of men and no lesse losse and daunger.
1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 60 There appeared farre more freedome of spirit, and no lesse agility of body in that fat farrier and his bounsing hussy.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 33. ⁋1 The Father received his Intelligence with no less Joy than Surprize.
1882 Nature 15 June 147/2 The no less fertility of ingeniously-devised experiment.
1936 G. L. Prestige God in Patristic Thought iii. 55 Christ, who was called the prosopon of God with no less assurance (if with less frequency) than He was called God's Word or Wisdom.
3.
a. Of no lower degree, rank, gravity, importance, etc.
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1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour iii. vii. sig. aviv In iudiciall causes..witnesses & iurates, which shall procede in the triall, doo make no lasse othe.
1628 J. Doughty Church Schismes in Disc. Divine Myst. 4 Austin..chargeth them with no lesse a sinne, then with that of the holy ghost.
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 15 The Sword, Which for no less a Stake than Life, you Draw.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. iii. iii. 216 The same Method was likewise taken with Playhouse Tickets, which were no less a public Grievance. View more context for this quotation
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xvii. 403 An attack (for it deserves no less a name) of the Benchuca..the great black bug of the Pampas.
1938 S. J. L. Taylor in Lancet 26 Mar. 759/1 I hope to show that environment plays no less a part in the production of what I venture to call ‘the suburban neurosis’ than it does in the production of physical disease.
2012 Independent 30 Aug. 16/1 To undertake to ensure that the standards of travel are maintained to no less a standard than that which they inherit.
b. no less a (person, figure, etc.) than: (emphasizing the identity of the person or thing named) no one of lesser rank or importance than, no other than.
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1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica iii. iv. 507 Theodoret confidently expresses himself concerning no less a Man than Arius.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 89. ¶1 No less a Man than a Brother of the Coiff.
1840 R. H. Barham Leech of Folkestone in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 135 This was, however, no less a personage than the Deus ex machinâ,—the illustrious Aldrovando himself.
1885 R. L. Stevenson & F. Stevenson Dynamiter xi That hag of a mulatto was no less a person than my wife.
1914 St. Nicholas Mag. Oct. 1116/1 There is a legend in foot-ball lore that no less a warrior than Augustus Cæsar introduced into foot-ball its military element.
1998 N.Y. Times 4 Jan. 15/2 Seltzer's inspiration was modified by no less a figure than Damon Runyon.
2006 Private Eye 7 July 9/3 This was opposed by no less a body than the European Food Safety Authority.
B. adv. Not less; to no less a degree.
1. Directly preceding the word modified (usually with than following).† a. Modifying a verb. Obsolete.
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eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) li. 397 Ða gesinhiwan mon sceal manian..ðæt hie no læs ne ne geðencen hwæt oðre men him forberað & geðafiað, ðonne hie geðenceað hwæt hi oðrum monnum forberað.
OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) vi. 53 Dixit non minus laudendus est uir fortis in luctu quam qui in bello : sæde na læs to herigenne ys wer strang on heofincge þænne on gefeohte.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 11 Plato (whiche otherwyse is a grave Philosopher) did no lesse erre then the other, imagining [etc.].
1560 in J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (1677) iii. 168 Avariciousness and solicitude of mony is no less to be damned.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 392 Clerke-like experienc'd, which no lesse adornes Our Gentry, then our Parents Noble Names. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 848 Death Grinnd horrible a gastly smile..: no less rejoyc'd His mother bad. View more context for this quotation
1696 Alcander & Philocrates ii. 39 A witty Wife is no less to be fear'd; she is insolent, opinionate, and ill-natur'd.
b. Modifying an adjective or adverb.
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1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 200v Auouchyng hymself to bee no lesse beholdyng to the said Aristotle then to his father.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xv A history no lesse lamentable then full of dispayre.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 137 Whose absence is no lesse materiall to me, Then is his Fathers. View more context for this quotation
1650 J. Milton Tenure of Kings (ed. 2) 57 For Divines, if ye observe them, have thir postures, and thir motions no less expertly, and with no less variety then they that practice feats in the Artillery-ground.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 128. ¶7 The same female Levity is no less fatal to them after Mariage than before.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. v. 45 My little ones were no less busy.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 414 The export trade of the Steelyard was no less extensive than its import.
1892 N. Smyth Christian Ethics i. iii. 158 A moral order no less infrustrable, and as universal in its dominion.
1903 J. London Call of Wild iii Buck was no less eager, and no less cautious.
1991 New Yorker 2 Sept. 89/3 Europeans are no less keen to see the end of Shamir's government.
2. With than preceding the expression compared or modified.
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c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 215 Ancren summe sungið in hare wimplunge na leasse þen leafdis.
1547 J. Wilkinson tr. Aristotle Ethiques xxv. sig. fiv So the iust man can be no lesse then in iiii. thynges.
1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 8 Thay ar na les than the vtheris degenerat ignorantis.
1578 T. Timme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Gen. 87 She accounted him no less than a domesticall beast.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 230 The Pilot directed their journey by the Compasse..no lesse then if it had beene at Sea.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost viii. 248 Pleas'd with thy words no less then thou with mine. View more context for this quotation
1674 W. Lloyd Difference Church & Court of Rome 9 He that..goes at large on his Parole.., is..no less a Prisoner, than when under Guard, and in the Marshals custody.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. Pref. p. vi Dictated by friendship no less than by conviction.
a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. P. Calderon Scenes from Magico Prodigioso in Posthumous Poems (1824) 374 I am Held no less than yourselves to know the limits Of honour and of infamy.
1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 236 In the Books of Esdras, Enoch and Baruch, no less than in St. John—there are for us some necessary difficulties.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 576/1 The Alexandrine..is often used with a licence no less than when Ronsard wrote.
1992 New Republic 10 Aug. 30/3 No less than guilt, shame had to be seen as a form of self-punishment.
3. Modifying the whole predicate, usually at the end of a sentence or clause. Now chiefly poetic.In some cases passing into sense C. 1.
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a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6915 Fourti winter, an nales.
c1400 Simonie (Peterhouse) (1991) l. 371 He ne shuld not seke his tresour so fer; he shuld fynd it ner At iustices and at shiryues, corowners and chancelers No lesse.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 192 That fatall year generally foretold that it would be wonderfull, as it proved no less.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. i. 1 No less are they the due Effective of the former.
1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere vi, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 41 The rock shone bright, the kirk no less.
1819 P. B. Shelley Lines Euganean Hills in Rosalind & Helen 83 The dun and bladed grass no less, Pointing from this hoary tower.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems viii. 9 Now she resigns thee; child, do thou resign no less.
1958 J. Betjeman Coll. Poems (1997) 87 The warm-handled racket is back in its press, But my shock-headed victor, she loves me no less.
1996 D. Davie Poems & Melodramas 4 Whatever We took to be safely outward Implicates us no less.
C. n. and pron.
1. No less a quantity or number; nothing less or no fewer than what is mentioned or implied.
a. With than preceding an expression of number.Often simply a way of emphasizing a number.
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the world > relative properties > quantity > [phrase] > no less > no less than
no lesseOE
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 896 Þy ilcan sumera forwearð nolæs þonne xx scipa mid monnum mid ealle.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) 792 (MED) He [sc. Judas] stal oure lordes teoþinge; þerffore he nolde hit do No lasse þan þritty pans to keuere his þeofte so.
1582 Bible (Rheims) 1 Tim. v. 9 Let a widow be chosen of no lesse the three score yeres.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 321 The sacred servants, which were no lesse then sixe thousand.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 373 No lesse Then three great Argosies, besides two Galliasses. View more context for this quotation
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 46. ⁋12 No less than Ten People produced the following Poem.
1800 M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 52 No less than three ladies in our county talked of for his second wife.
1841 T. B. Macaulay Warren Hastings in Edinb. Rev. Oct. 237 Matter for no less than twenty Articles of impeachment.
a1898 H. Bessemer Autobiogr. (1905) v. 81 I have obtained no less than 110 separate patents.
1969 Jrnl. Inst. Navigation 22 526 During 1968 no less than four new survey vessels..were commissioned.
2001 Q July 104/1 Benediktsson's accompanying soundtrack..features no less than six particularly curious versions of The Kinks' Lola.
b. Without an expression of number.
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1389 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 51 (MED) A sengle womman..schal paie no lasse þan a brother doth.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 1640 (MED) Þou schal be baroun upon benche; bede I þe no lasse.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) 1759 (MED) Se þe cloþes þat þey be clene, And also halowet alle by-dene, Wyth þre towayles, and no lasse, Hule þyn auter at thy masse.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 152 The feyndis gaif thame hait leid to laip, Thair lovery wes na les.
1560 in A. Macdonald & J. Dennistoun Misc. Maitland Club (1843) III. ii. 223 The greatnes of his offens first to God and to his Kirk Secundarlie towardes me dois merite no less.
1618 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1849) (modernized text) II. 114 The bailiffs assaulted him in his coach, hammed his horses, and threatened no less unto himself.
1654 R. Aylett Divine & Moral Speculations vi. 10 Whenas the Daughters saw, they praise and bless; And all the Queens and Concubines could do no less.
1720 J. Strype Stow's Surv. of London (rev. ed.) II. v. ix. 177/1 They petitioned..that no Pepper might be brought in for three Years into any of her Dominions, the Time of the Pepper-Vend requiring no less.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. ix. 69/1 The Shoeblack..would require..for his permanent satisfaction and saturation, simply this allotment, no more, and no less.
1847 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 10 John had bid me take two glasses (no less) of Madeira.
1972 H. S. Thompson Let. Feb. in Fear & Loathing in Amer. (2000) 472 The public expects no less.
2.
a. With than. Something or someone in no way different or inferior.
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a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 75 Wise men concludeþ þat Paradys [?a1475 anon. tr. Paradise terrestrialle]..is..no lasse þan Ynde oþer Egipte.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. viii. 14 Who can owe no lesse than childlike obedience to her.
1697 G. Burghope Disc. Relig. Assemblies 166 We shall find it to amount to no less than a vertual renunciation of our baptism.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 55. ¶4 The Aim of each of them was no less than Universal Monarchy.
1794 J. Gifford Reign Louis XVI 185 This was no less than the total abolition of the Gabelles throughout France.
1978 E. A. Tiryakian in T. Bottomore & R. Nisbet Hist. Sociol. Anal. vi. 212 Durkheim's ‘sociologism’ in this respect amounts to no less than an epistemological revolution.
b. Used parenthetically, emphasizing the significance of what or who has been mentioned. Sometimes ironic.
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c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) Ded. 3 Your Majesties self noe less, commanding, at your first entrie to your Roial scepter, to reform the grammar, and to teach Aristotle in his aun tongue.
1637 T. Heywood Epitaph in Phœnix these Late Times Make his Dust our Glasse..and his Life (no lesse) A Mirrour, by the which our lives to dresse.
1803 J. Boaden Voice of Nature i. i. 4 Ric. O, the seducer of Lilla, then, was a—— Ben. A prince, no less!
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xxi. 331 Spirits and soda-water (with the mark of Schweppe, no less) stood ready on a butler's tray.
1904 J. Conrad Nostromo ii. iii You should see the explanatory and confidential letter! Eight pages of it—no less!
1962 G. Thomas Keep i. 25 You took a few drinks. Why not? Anybody selling monumental masonry in..towns..where the only concession to gaiety is a striped shroud, deserves a bath in drambuie, no less.
1993 Insight 11 Oct. 29/2 Those green articles of NAFTA, the pack snarls, represent the most fundamental threat to sovereignty ever faced by this nation—an ‘economic Maastricht’, no less.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.adv.n.pron.eOE