les

English Online Dictionary. What means les‎? What does les mean?

English

Alternative forms

• lez

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /lɛz/
• Rhymes: -ɛz

Noun

les (plural leses)

1. (slang, colloquial, derogatory) Clipping of lesbian.

Adjective

les (comparative more les, superlative most les)

1. (slang, colloquial, derogatory) Clipping of lesbian.

Anagrams

• SEL, SLE, Els, ELs, LSE, els, ELS, ESL

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch les (“lesson”), from Middle Dutch lesse, from Latin lēctiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛs/

Noun

les (plural lesse, diminutive lessie)

1. lesson

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin ille (“that one”).

Pronoun

les

1. them (indirect object)

Synonyms

• lis

Asturian

Alternative forms

• lles (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin illas.

Article

les f pl (masculine sg el, feminine sg la, neuter sg lo, masculine plural los)

1. (definite) the

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illās, from ille.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ləs/
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /les/
• Rhymes: -es

Article

les f pl (masculine plural els, masculine singular el, feminine singular la)

1. the; feminine plural definite article

Pronoun

les (enclitic and proclitic)

1. them (feminine, direct object)

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin laesus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈlɛs]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈləs]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈles]

Adjective

les (feminine lesa, masculine plural lesos, feminine plural leses)

1. (law) harmed

Derived terms

• crim de lesa humanitat

Related terms

• il·lès

Further reading

• “les” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech les, from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛs]
• Hyphenation: les
• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Homophone: lez

Noun

les m inan

1. forest

   Synonym: hvozd

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• “les”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “les”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “les”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Danish

Noun

les c

1. indefinite genitive singular of le

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛs/
• Hyphenation: les
• Rhymes: -ɛs

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch lesse, from Latin lēctiō.

Noun

les f (plural lessen, diminutive lesje n)

1. course, lesson

Derived terms

• acteerles
• avondles
• bijles
• gymles
• gymnastiekles
• lesgeven
• leslokaal
• lesplan
• lesrooster
• lessen
• lesuur
• paardrijles
• rijles
• schoolles
• zangles
• zwemles

Descendants

• Afrikaans: les
• → Caribbean Javanese: lès
• → Indonesian: les
• → Papiamentu: lès, les

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

les

1. inflection of lessen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Anagrams

• els

Further reading

• “les” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

Franco-Provençal

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illās.

Determiner

les f pl

1. feminine plural of lo (“the”)

Pronoun

les f pl (ORB, broad)

1. them (third-person plural feminine accusative)

See also

References

• les [3] in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• les in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Etymology 2

Determiner

les m pl

1. Alternative form of los, masculine plural of lo (“the”)

Pronoun

les m pl (ORB, broad)

1. Alternative form of los m pl (“them”)

References

• les in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• les in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French les, from Old French les, from Latin illōs m and illās f which are the accusative plurals of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛ/, (in liaison) /lɛ.z‿/ ~ /le.z‿/
• IPA^(key): /le/, (in liaison) /le.z‿/
• Homophones: lé, lés, lez, lait, laits

Article

les

1. plural of le: the
2. plural of la: the

Usage notes

• de les is never used: contracted into des.
• à les is never used: contracted into aux.

Pronoun

les m pl or f pl

1. plural of le: them
2. plural of la: them

Related terms

References

Further reading

• “les”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• sel

Galician

Verb

les

1. second-person singular present indicative of ler

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leːs/

Verb

les

1. (colloquial) first-person singular present of lesen

   Synonym: (standard) lese

2. (colloquial) singular imperative of lesen

   Synonym: (standard) lies

Hungarian

Etymology

From Proto-Ugric *läćɜ (“hiding place; lurk”). Cognates include Southern Mansi [script needed] (lǟš-), Northern Mansi [script needed] (lāś-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛʃ]
• Rhymes: -ɛʃ

Noun

les (plural lesek)

2. cover, hideaway, ambush (the place where one is concealed, in wait to attack by surprise, or the act of concealing oneself there)

   Synonyms: lesállás, leshely

   Hypernyms: búvóhely, rejtekhely, (hiding place in general) rejtek

3. (hunting) hide, blind
4. (soccer) offside

   Synonyms: lesállás, leshelyzet

Declension

Derived terms

Verb

les

2. (transitive) to spy, peep, peek, pry
3. (transitive) to stare, goggle, eye
4. (transitive, intransitive) to cheat at a test by looking at someone else's work

Conjugation

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):

References

Further reading

• (ambush): les in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• (to spy): les in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛːs/
• Rhymes: -ɛːs

Etymology 1

Noun

les n (genitive singular less, nominative plural les)

1. (linguistics) lexeme (set of inflected forms taken by a single word)
2. (computing) lexeme (individual instance of a continuous character sequence without spaces, used in lexical analysis)

Declension

Synonyms

• (lexeme): flettiorð

Derived terms

• lesgreining
• lesgreinir

See also

• tóki

Etymology 2

Verb

les

1. first-person singular of lesa (“to read”)

2. third-person singular of lesa (“to read”)

Indonesian

Etymology 1

From Dutch les (“course, lesson”), from Middle Dutch lesse, from Latin lēctiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛs]
• Hyphenation: lès

Noun

lès (plural les-les)

1. (education, colloquial) cram school, private tuition.

Verb

lès

1. (education, colloquial) to cram, to study hard, to learn at cram school.

Etymology 2

From Dutch lis (“reed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛs]
• Hyphenation: lès

Noun

lès (plural les-les)

1. rein.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈləs]
• Hyphenation: lês

Noun

lês (plural les-les)

1. alternative spelling of lis

Further reading

• “les” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Interlingua

Pronoun

les

1. (dative) to them

Usage notes

• Precedes conjugated verbs.
• Can be of mixed gender (not just masculine).

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin illas.

Article

les f (plural)

1. the

See also

• l
• la, l'
• i

Ladino

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish les, from Latin illīs, dative plural of ille.

Pronoun

les m or f by sense (Hebrew spelling ליס)

1. dative of eyos and eyas; to them, for them

References

Middle English

Alternative forms

• lese, lees, leas, leasse

Etymology

From Old English lēas (“false, void, loose”).

Cognate with Middle High German lōs (“loose”), Old Swedish lø̄s (“loose”); a doublet of loos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛːs/

Adjective

les

1. false; lying; deceptive

Noun

les (uncountable)

1. falsehood; a lie

Middle French

Etymology

from Old French les, from Latin illōs m and illās f

Article

les m pl or f pl (masculine singular le, feminine singular la)

1. the

Descendants

• French: les

Norman

Pronunciation

Article

les pl (singular lé, and la)

1. Alternative form of l's

   les boutons ― the nipples

   les êpices ― the spices

   les lédgeunmes ― the vegetables

   les ridgieaux ― the curtains

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

les

1. imperative of lese

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

les

1. present tense of lesa
2. imperative of lesa

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈlɛs/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈlɛs/

Noun

les m inan

1. forest

   Synonym: hvozd

Declension

Descendants

• Czech: les

Further reading

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “les”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old French

Etymology

From Latin illas and illos.

Article

les

1. the (feminine plural oblique definite article)
2. the (feminine plural nominative definite article)
3. the (masculine plural oblique definite article)

Inflection

Descendants

• Middle French: les
  • French: les

Old Irish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lʲesʲ]

Pronoun

les (emphatic lessom)

1. third-person singular masculine of la

Alternative forms

• less

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [l͈ʲes]

Noun

les m

1. Alternative spelling of less (“benefit, advantage”)

Mutation

Old Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lě̑sъ. First attested in 1386.

Noun

les m inan

1. forest, woods (dense uncultivated tract of trees)

Descendants

• Pannonian Rusyn: лєс (ljes)
• Slovak: les

References

• Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “les”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

Rohingya

Etymology

Compare with Bengali লেজ (lej).

Noun

les

1. tail

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Bulgarian лес (les).

Noun

les n (plural lesuri)

1. (Oltenia) thicket

Declension

References

• les in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lêːs/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ (“tree, forest”).

Alternative forms

• lijȇs (Ijekavian)

Noun

lȇs m (Cyrillic spelling ле̑с)

1. coffin
2. (regionally) lumber
3. (regionally) forest, woods

Declension

Etymology 2

From German Löss.

Noun

lȇs m (Cyrillic spelling ле̑с)

1. (geology) loess

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Old Slovak les, from Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʎes]

Noun

les m inan (relational adjective lesný, diminutive lesík or lesíček, augmentative lesisko)

1. forest, woods

Declension

Further reading

• “les”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2024

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *lěsъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /léːs/
• Rhymes: -eːs
• Hyphenation: les

Noun

lẹ̑s m inan

1. (uncountable) wood

   Synonyms: lesovina, lesnina, lesna snov

2. (uncommon, uncountable) trees in a forest^[→SSKJ]

   Synonyms: drevo, drev

3. (usually in the plural, archaic or literary) forest, woods

   Synonyms: gozd, boršt, gmajna, gaj, gošča, gozdek, gozdič, gozdiček, gozdni labirint, hosta, lesovje, log, loza, šuma

4. (Christianity, rare) cross

   Synonyms: križ, krucifiks

Declension

• stylistically marked

Derived terms

Further reading

• “les”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “les”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /les/ [les]
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: les

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illīs, dative plural of ille.

Pronoun

les

1. dative of ellos and ellas; to them, for them

2. dative of ustedes; to you all, for you all (formal)

3. (leísmo, dialectal) accusative of ustedes; you all (formal)

   Synonyms: los, las

4. (leísmo, dialectal, proscribed except in impersonal sentences with "se") accusative of ellos and ellas; them

   Synonyms: lo, la

5. (gender-neutral, neologism) dative of elles; to them, for them

See also

Etymology 2

Gender-neutral -e replaces the gendered endings/elements -a and -o.

Article

les gender-neutral pl

1. (gender-neutral, neologism) the (plural)

Further reading

• “le”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• “leísmo” in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, segunda edición, Real Academia Española, 2023. →ISBN

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English lazy.

Adjective

les

1. lazy
2. tired, fed up

Verb

les

1. be lazy
2. be tired, be fed up

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leːs/
• Rhymes: -eːs

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English lace.

Noun

les f (plural lesau, not mutable)

1. lace (light fabric patterned with holes)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle English lease, from Anglo-Norman les, from Old French lais, lez (“a lease”).

Noun

les f (plural lesoedd, not mutable)

1. lease

Alternative forms

• lês (obsolete)

Derived terms

• lesddeiliad (“leaseholder”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

les

1. Soft mutation of lles.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “les”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Mutation