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Less; smaller; inferior. God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night. Gen. i. 15.

One who blesses; one who bestows or invokes a blessing.

To receive or adopt. The sixth was a young knight of lesser renown and lower rank, assumed into that honorable company. Sir W. Scott.

The lesser whitethroat of Europe; -- called also babbling warbler.

mily, but chiefly to the common or sweet basil (Ocymum basilicum), and the bush basil, or lesser basil (O. minimum), the leaves of which are used in cookery. The name is also given to several kinds of mountain mint (Pycnanthemum). Basil thyme, a name given to the fragrant herbs Calamintha Acinos and C. Nepeta. -- Wild…

varying according to the locality; in Turkey, the greater batman is about 157 pounds, the lesser only a fourth of this; at Aleppo and Smyrna, the batman is 17 pounds. Simmonds.

two constellations in the northern hemisphere, called respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

A narrow passage or strait; as, the Great Belt and the Lesser Belt, leading to the Baltic Sea.

A plant of the genus Convolvulus; as, greater bindweed (C. Sepium); lesser bindweed (C. arvensis); the white, the blue, the Syrian, bindweed. The black bryony, or Tamus, is called black bindweed, and the Smilax aspera, rough bindweed. The fragile bindweed bells and bryony rings. Tennyson.

A stream of water smaller than a river and larger than a brook. Lesser streams and rivulets are denominated creeks. Goldsmith.

The constellation of the Lesser Bear, to which, as containing the polar star, the eyes of mariners and travelers were often directed.

An offense or transgression against law; (Scots Law) an offense of a lesser degree; a misdemeanor. Every regulation of the civil code necessarily implies a delict in the event of its violation. Jeffrey.

ich can be separated from the other. -- Divisible offense (Law), an offense containing a lesser offense in one of a greater grade, so that on the latter there can be an acquittal, while on the former there can be a conviction. -- Di*vis"i*ble*ness, n. -- Di*vis"i*bly, adv.

One of the two constellations, Canis Major and Canis Minor, or the Greater Dog and the Lesser Dog. Canis Major contains the Dog Star (Sirius).

The stingfish, or lesser weever (Tranchinus vipera).

or gift; power; as, faculties of the mind or the soul. But know that in the soul Are many lesser faculties that serve Reason as chief. Milton. What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! Shak.

ts for the purpose of amusement, wit, or embellishment; imagination. In the soul Are many lesser faculties, that serve Reason as chief. Among these fancy next Her office holds. Milton.

opean fish (Raniceps raninus), having a large flat head; -- also called tadpole fish, and lesser forked beard.

root, a very strong smell, and an acrid, pungent taste. Each root is composed of several lesser bulbs, called cloves of garlic, inclosed in a common membranous coat, and easily separable.

Pertaining to the stomach and liver; hepatogastric; as, the gastrohepatic, or lesser, omentum.