c. 1200, contracted fromMiddle Englishles te(“less that”), fromOld Englishþȳ lǣs þe(“whereby less that”), fromþȳ (instrumental case of demonstrative articleþæt(“that”)) +lǣs(“less”) +þe (“that,” relative particle). Theþȳ was dropped and the remaining two words contracted intoleste.[1]
lest(formal, literary)
- Forfear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case.
- Synonym:(informal)before
He won't go outside,lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles.
I brought my noteslest faulty memory lead me astray.
1610–1611 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene i],page15, column 2:I thought to haue told thee of it, but I fear'd /Leaſt I might anger thee.
1959,Anthony Burgess,Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published1972, page565:And then Robert Loo came out swiftly with the half-filled jarlest more be said.
1967, “I Am a Lonesome Hobo”, inBob Dylan (music),John Wesley Harding[2]:Stay free from petty jealousies / Live by no man's code / And hold your judgment for yourself /Lest you wind up on this road
2013 July 27, “Lunacy?”, inThe Economist[3], volume408, number8846:Lest any astrologer reading this result get cocky, Dr Cajochen does not believe that what he has found is directly influenced by the Moon through, say, some tidal effect. What he thinks he has discovered is an additional hand on the body’s clock-face.
- (after certain expressions denoting fear orapprehension)that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.)
There was danger/alarmlest the plan become known.
I am afraidlest I revealed too much.
1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “Lady Milborough as Ambassador”, inHe Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […],→OCLC,page81:That you and I should be in the same house together and not able to speak to each other is in itself a misery, but this is terribly enhanced by the dreadlest this state of things should be made to continue.
1886 October –1887 January,H[enry] Rider Haggard,She: A History of Adventure, London:Longmans, Green, and Co., published1887,→OCLC:[M]y ward, or rather my adopted son Leo Vincey and myself have recently passed through a real African adventure, of a nature so much more marvellous than the one which you describe, that to tell the truth I am almost ashamed to submit it to youlest you should disbelieve my tale.
1897 December (indicated as1898),Winston Churchill, chapter IV, inThe Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.:The Macmillan Company; London:Macmillan & Co., Ltd.,→OCLC:Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembledlest he should be heard on the veranda.
- This word has becomearchaic for many English speakers.
- lest is usually followed by a verb in thesubjunctive mood in either the present or future tense.
- For example:
- Lest theybe captured, the soldiers fled from the battlefield.
- Let him attend the ceremony which commemorates the achievements of his ancestors, lest heforget.
- In the future tense, when it is differentiated from the present, it is usually combined withshould:
- Let us get to the station early, lest weshould miss our connection.
for fear that
- Arabic:خِيفَةَأَنَّ(ḵīfata ʔanna),مَخَافَةَأَن(maḵāfata ʔan)
- Bikol Central:harambili
- Bulgarian:от страх да не(ot strah da ne)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin:以免 (zh)(yǐmiǎn)
- Czech:ze strachu, že ...,v případě, že ...
- Danish:af frygt for at
- Dutch:uit angst dat
- Esperanto:pro timo ke
- Finnish:siltävaralta,että(+ conditional);siinäpelossa,että;senpelossa,että;ettei (fi);jottei (fi)
- French:de peur que,sans quoi (fr)
- Galician:non sexa que
- Georgian:რათა არ(rata ar)
- German:fürchtend,dass;inderFurcht,dass
- Gothic:𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹(ibai)
- Greek:
- Ancient:μή(mḗ),μήποτε(mḗpote)
- Hebrew:פֶּן (he)(pen)
- Hungarian:nehogy (hu)
- Irish:areaglago
- Italian:per paura che
- Japanese:しないように(shinai yō ni)
- Khmer:ក្រែង (km)(kraeŋ)
- Maori:kei tūpono
- Old English:þȳ lǣs
- Polish:ze strachu, że
- Portuguese:para que (pt),a fim de que ...não
- Romanian:în caz că
- Russian:из страха, что
- Serbo-Croatian:iz straha da ne,da ne bi
- Slovene:da ne bi
- Spanish:no (es) + subjunctive,no vaya a ser que
- Sundanese:bisi
- Turkish:bundan korkarak
- Ukrainian:боячи́сь, що(bojačýsʹ, ščo)
|
that (without the negative particle)
- ^Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “lest”, inOnline Etymology Dictionary.
- ^“Lest” in John Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary […] , London: Sold by G. G. J. andJ. Robinſon, Paternoſter Row; and T.Cadell, in the Strand, 1791,→OCLC, page 325.
- ^Dobson, E. J. (1957)English pronunciation 1500-1700[1], second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford:Clarendon Press, published1968,→OCLC,§ 8,page471.
Inherited fromProto-Slavic*lьstь, fromGothic𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃(lists), fromProto-Germanic*listiz.
lest f
- trick,ruse
- stratagem
Declension oflest (mixed i-stem [type 'pěst'] feminine reducible)
- “lest”, inPříruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech),1935–1957
- “lest”, inSlovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech),1960–1971, 1989
- “lest”, inInternetová jazyková příručka (in Czech),2008–2025
lest
- inflection oflessen:
- second/third-personsingularpresentindicative
- (archaic)pluralimperative
Inherited fromOld Frenchlast,lest, fromOld Dutchlast, fromProto-Germanic*hlastuz.
lest m (plurallests)
- deadweight;ballast
lest
- inflection oflesen:
- second-personpluralpresent
- pluralimperative
les +-t
lest
- accusativesingular ofles
FromMiddle Low Germanlast.
lest f (genitive singularlestar,nominative plurallestiror(chiefly of freight (on a ship))lestar)
- train,file,row,line
- Synonym:röð
- railway train
- Synonym:járnbrautarlest
- cargo hold
- Synonyms:lestarrúm,vörurúm
- ton
- Synonym:tonn
- (obsolete)cargo,burden,load
- Synonyms:byrði,farmur
- (nautical)freight,cargo
1Chiefly of freight (on a ship).
- lesta(“to load, to fill with cargo”)
lest
- supine oflese
FromOld Norseleistr, fromProto-Germanic*laistaz.
lest m (definite singularlesten,indefinite plurallester,definite plurallestene)
- alast(atool in theshape of ahumanfoot, for shaping or preserving the shape ofshoes)
- (clothing) thefoot-part of astocking
- (non-standard since 2005)leist
lest (present tenselest,past tenselest)
- form removed with thespelling reform of 2005;superseded byless
- “lest” inThe Bokmål Dictionary.
FromOld Norseleistr m,[1] fromProto-Germanic*laistaz m(“track, trace; footprint”), fromProto-Indo-European*lóystos, from the root*leys-(“to trace, track”). Akin toEnglishlast,Swedishläst, andGermanLeisten.
lest m (definite singularlesten,indefinite plurallestar,definite plurallestane)
- alast(atool in theshape of ahumanfoot, for shaping or preserving the shape ofshoes)
- (clothing) thefoot-part of astocking
FromOld Norselest f, from eitherOld Englishhlæst,[2]Old Frisianhlest,[2] orMiddle Low Germanlast.[1] In any case, fromProto-Germanic*hlastuz andDoublet oflastm.
lest m (definite singularlesten,indefinite plurallesterorlestar,definite plurallesteneorlestane)
- (historical) An oldmeasure ofvolume, about 12 to 24barrels.
- (historical) An old measure ofweight, about half up until a full dozenskippund.
- (historical, nautical) An oldunit of measure on thefreightcapacity of aship.
See the etymology of the correspondinglemma form.
lest
- past oflåst
From the verbleiste(“to grow over”).
lest m (definite singularlesten,indefinite plurallestar,definite plurallestane)
- straws andgrasses thatgrowclose toeach other
- sproutinggrasses andgrains
Borrowed fromFrenchlest.
lest n (plurallesturi)
- ballast
