Word Confusion: Lesser versus Lessor

Revised as of
15 Jan 2023

This Word Confusion always cracks me up. I pretty much needed to write this post, if only to remind myself that lessers can be defined in other ways than merely as a group of antagonists in J.R. Ward’s The Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

I suppose that Ward’s lessers are a combination, really, of both a lesser person whose soul is taken by the lessor, i.e., man who becomes the tenant to the landlord, the Omega. Eeek, life plays out in fiction . . . always with that lessor in control of us lessers!

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Lesser	Lessor
Tomatoes by Jacob Fix is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr. — One big tomato next to one lesser in size.	Civil Engineers Provide Okinawa Families “Exceptional” Homes, 20 July 2011, by Staff Sgt. Amanda Savannah, 18th Wing Public Affairs, is in the public domain, via Pacific Air Forces. — A familiar sight, as the lessor notes damages when a tenant moves out.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Adverb; Noun Plural for the noun: lessers	Noun Plural: lessors
Adjective: A comparative of little [Attrib.] Not so great or important as the other or the rest Lower in terms of rank or quality Used in names of animals and plants which are smaller than similar kinds Not as great in quantity, size, or worth Adverb: A comparative of little Less Noun: [Usually used with the] One that is lower in importance, rank, magnitude, or degree	A person who leases or lets a property to another A landlord
Examples:
Adjective: He was convicted of a lesser assault charge. They nest mostly in Alaska and to a lesser extent in Siberia. He’s always looking down his nose at us lesser mortals. The lesser aristocracy includes barons, baronets, knights, etc. George, George, I saw a lesser spotted woodpecker. Do not plant the extremely invasive lesser celandine. The lesser powers of Europe had no say in the terms of the treaty. Authoritarianism may seem a lesser evil than abject poverty. Adverb: We were on the lesser known streets of London. As a lesser-known writer, his book sales were lower. Noun: It was the lesser of two evils. The greater class is predicated of the lesser. The greater sand hills increasingly do not migrate, but almost all lessers do.	In truth, lessors lease a lot of things: cars, planes, houses, apartments, machinery, etc. Do you know who the lessor is? “By the common law the lessor was not required to make repairs” (Bolles). “An estate at will is where land is let to another, to hold at the will of the lessor” (Young). The lessors and their solicitors discussed tactics for dealing with the lessees. In this case, an owner of a piece of equipment sells the equipment to a lessor, who then leases it back to its former owner, who is then the lessee. If the covenant has the meaning suggested by the lessees, the lessors are liable for breach of the implied covenant. It is not simply the transfer of title to a piece of property: It is also a contract in itself under which both the lessor and the lessee accept rights and obligations. There had been a stipulation in the lease that the buildings were not to be altered without the lessor’s consent, which was never asked for.
Derivatives:
Adjective: least, less, lesser-known Noun: lessening, lessenings Verb: lessen, lessens, lessened, lessening
History of the Word:
From Middle English, as a double comparative, from less + the suffix -er.	Late Middle English, from the Anglo-Norman French, which is from the Old French lesser meaning let, leave.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Lesser versus Lessor

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Apple Dictionary.com

Bolles, Albert Sidney. Putnam’s Handy Law Book for the Layman. 2011. <https://amzn.to/3SebY7L>.

Dictionary.com: lesser, lessor

Oxford Dictionaries: lessor

Young, Andrew W. The Government Class Book. CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2015. <https://amzn.to/3RWoGs7>.

YourDictionary: lessening

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Corruption, 2003, by Christopher Dombres is in the public domain, via Flickr. “Money isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” The Landlord’s Game, which became Monopoly, was originally created by Elizabeth Magie Phillips.