lesser

\ˈlɛs.ɚ\

/\ˈlɛs.ɚ\/ adj

The verdict

“lesser” is uncommon French (frequency #81,311 among 2,567 “L” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,311
frequency rank, French
2,567
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Comparatif de little. Plus petit. Souvent utilisé pour nommer le plus petit des deux semblables.

Corpus desk

Index FR-lesser · lesser · French

lesser · rank #81,311 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,311
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,567
  • PHOTO-FINISH leopardi

Nearest frequency peer: leopardi (-2 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangs de longue queue près de « lesser »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « lesser » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for lesser
PropertyValue
Headwordlesser
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ˈlɛs.ɚ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#81,311
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « lesser » en français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.lessertombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Voisins rares de la même bande: « leopardi » (#81,309), « lieudit » (#81,313), « Leffe » (#81,308). Parmi 2,567 lemmes en « L », « lesser » est au #81,311. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lesser is uncommon French at frequency #81,311 among 2,567 “L” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˈlɛs.ɚ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Comparatif de little. Plus petit. Souvent utilisé pour nommer le plus petit des deux semblables.".

Zero misspellings are on record for lesser in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is lesser, spelled L-E-S-S-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Comparatif de little. Plus petit. Souvent utilisé pour nommer le plus petit des deux semblables.

Synonyms

littler

Antonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lesser"?
"lesser" is spelled L-E-S-S-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈlɛs.ɚ\.
What does "lesser" mean?
As an adjective, "lesser" means: Comparatif de little. Plus petit. Souvent utilisé pour nommer le plus petit des deux semblables.
How do you pronounce "lesser"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lesser" is \ˈlɛs.ɚ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lesser" come from?
"lesser" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lesser", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list