Nearby Words
conjunction
1.
for fear that; so that (one) should not (used negatively to introduce a clause expressive of an action or occurrence requiring caution): He kept his notes by his side lest faulty memory lead him astray.
2.
that (used after words expressing fear, danger, etc.): There was danger lest the plan become known.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English leste, contraction of the lesse the, thi les the; late Old English the lǣste, earlier thȳ lǣs the, literally, whereby less that (thȳ instrumental case of the demonstrative and relative pronoun, lǣs less, the relative particle)
before 1000; Middle English leste, contraction of the lesse the, thi les the; late Old English the lǣste, earlier thȳ lǣs the, literally, whereby less that (thȳ instrumental case of the demonstrative and relative pronoun, lǣs less, the relative particle)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To lest
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Lest
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
lest
c.1240, from O.E. phrase þy læs þe "whereby less that," from þy, instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt "that" + læs (see less) + þe "the." The þy was dropped and the other two words contracted into leste.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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