Where does “lessen” come from?
lessen (Dutch) comes from Dutch les, from Middle Dutch lesse, from Latin lēctiō, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus, from Latin disserere, from Latin dis- — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
lessen (Dutch): to quench; to take a lesson
Definitions
- to quench; to take a lesson
Ancestry of “lessen”, step by step
lessen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Dutch les
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | les | course, lesson |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | lesse | — |
| 3 | Latin | lēctiō | A picking, selecting |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |