different between lessen vs confine

English

Etymology

From Middle English lessenen, lasnen, equivalent to less +? -en (verbal suffix).

Pronunciation

• enPR: l??s?n, IPA^(key): /?l?s?n/
• Rhymes: -?s?n
• Homophone: lesson

Verb

lessen (third-person singular simple present lessens, present participle lessening, simple past and past participle lessened)

1. (transitive) To make less; to diminish; to reduce.
   • a. 1686, Benjamin Calamy, a sermon

     Charity […] shall lessen his punishment.

   • December 6, 1709, Francis Atterbury, a sermon preach'd before the sons of the clergy at their anniversary-meeting in the Church of St. Paul

     St. Paul chose to magnify his office when ill men conspired to lessen it.
2. (intransitive) To become less.

Translations

Conjunction

lessen

1. (nonstandard, dialect) unless.

Anagrams

• Elsens, elsens, lenses, sensel

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?s?(n)/
• Rhymes: -?s?n

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch lesschen, from a merger of two Old Dutch [Term?] verbs:

• *leskan, from Proto-Germanic *leskan?; class 5 strong, intransitive.
• lesken, from Proto-Germanic *laskijan?; class 1 weak, causative of the first verb.

Verb

lessen

1. (transitive) to quench (thirst)

Inflection

Derived terms

• blussen

Etymology 2

From les +? -en.

Verb

lessen

1. (intransitive) to take a lesson (usually a driving lesson)

Inflection

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Noun

lessen

1. Plural form of les

Hungarian

Etymology

les +? -jen

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?l????n]
• Hyphenation: les?sen

Verb

lessen

1. third-person singular subjunctive present indefinite of les

Swedish

Adjective

lessen

1. Alternative spelling of ledsen

Anagrams

• selens

English

Etymology

From Middle French confiner, from confins, from Medieval Latin confines, from Latin confinium, from Latin conf?nis.

Pronunciation

• (verb) enPR: k?nf?n?, IPA^(key): /k?n?fa?n/
• (noun)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?nfa?n/
  • (US) enPR: kän?f?n, IPA^(key): /?k?nfa?n/
• Rhymes: -a?n

Verb

confine (third-person singular simple present confines, present participle confining, simple past and past participle confined)

1. (obsolete) To have a common boundary with; to border on. [16th–19th c.]
   • 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford 2008, p. 467:

     ‘Why, Sir, to be sure, such parts of Sclavonia as confine with Germany, will borrow German words; and such parts as confine with Tartary will borrow Tartar words.’

2. (transitive) To restrict (someone or something) to a particular scope or area; to keep in or within certain bounds. [from 17th c.]
   • 1680, John Dryden, Ovid’s Epistles translated by several hands, London: Jacob Tonson, Preface,^[1]

     He is to confine himself to the compass of numbers and the slavery of rhyme.

Translations

Noun

confine (plural confines)

1. (chiefly in the plural) A boundary or limit.

Synonyms

• (limit): border, bound, limit

Derived terms

• confineless

Translations

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??.fin/
• Homophones: confinent, confines

Verb

confine

1. first-person singular present indicative of confiner
2. third-person singular present indicative of confiner
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of confiner
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of confiner
5. second-person singular imperative of confiner

Italian

Etymology

From Latin conf?nis.

Noun

confine m (plural confini)

1. border, frontier
2. boundary

Synonyms

• limite

Related terms

• confinante
• confinare
• confinario
• confino

Latin

Adjective

c?nf?ne

1. nominative neuter singular of c?nf?nis
2. accusative neuter singular of c?nf?nis
3. vocative neuter singular of c?nf?nis

Portuguese

Verb

confine

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of confinar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of confinar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of confinar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of confinar

Spanish

Verb

confine

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of confinar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of confinar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of confinar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of confinar.