Lest
Pronunciation
- IPA: /lɛst/
- Rhymes: -ɛst
Origin
c.1200, contracted from Middle English phrase les te "less that," from Old English phrase þy læs þe "whereby less that," from þy (instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt “thatâ€) + læs ("less") + þe ("the"). The þy was dropped and the remaining two words contracted into leste.
Online Etymology Dictionary
Full definition of lest
Conjunction
- For fear that; that . . . not; in order that . . . not; in case.
- 1967 , I Am a Lonesome Hobo , Stay free from petty jealousies
Live by no man's code
And hold your judgment for yourself
Lest you wind up on this road - 2013-07-27, Lunacy?, Lest any astrologer reading this result get cocky, Dr Cajochen does not believe that what he has found is directly influenced by the Moon through, say, some tidal effect. What he thinks he has discovered is an additional hand on the body’s clock-face.
- He won't go outside, lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles.
- That (without the negative particle); – after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 4, Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
Usage notes
The word lest is always followed by the subjunctive mood, usually in either the present or future tense.
For example: Lest they be captured, the soldiers fled from the battlefield.
The future subjunctive would simply employ the auxiliary word should.
Synonyms
- (for fear that) before informal