Adjacent Words

Lesson definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LES'SON, n. les'n. [L. lectio, from lego, to read.]
1. Any thing read or recited to a teacher by a pupil or learner for improvement; or such a portion of a book as a pupil learns and repeats at one time. The instructor is pleased when his pupils recite their lessons with accuracy and promptness.
2. A portion of Scripture read in divine service. Thus endeth the first lesson.
3. A portion of a book or manuscript assigned by a preceptor to a pupil to be learnt, or for an exercise; something to be learnt. Give him his lesson.
4. Precept; doctrine or notion inculcated.
Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, and teach her not an evil lesson against thyself.
5. Severe lecture; reproof; rebuke.
She would give her a lesson for walking so late.
6. Tune written for an instrument.
7. Instruction or truth, taught by experience. The lessons which sickness imparts, she leaves to be practiced when health is established.
LES'SON, v.t. les'n. To teach; to instruct.
Children should be lessoned into a contempt and detestation of this vice.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a unit of instruction; "he took driving lessons"
2: punishment intended as a warning to others; "they decided to make an example of him" [syn: example, deterrent example, lesson, object lesson]
3: the significance of a story or event; "the moral of the story is to love thy neighbor" [syn: moral, lesson]
4: a task assigned for individual study; "he did the lesson for today"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French leçon, from Late Latin lection-, lectio, from Latin, act of reading, from legere to read — more at legend Date: 13th century 1. a passage from sacred writings read in a service of worship 2. a. a piece of instruction b. a reading or exercise to be studied by a pupil c. a division of a course of instruction 3. a. something learned by study or experience <his years of travel had taught him valuable lessons> b. an instructive example <the lessons of history> c. reprimand II. transitive verb (lessoned; lessoning) Date: 1555 1. to give a lesson to ; instruct 2. lecture, rebuke

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a an amount of teaching given at one time. b the time assigned to this. 2 (in pl.; foll. by in) systematic instruction (gives lessons in dancing; took lessons in French). 3 a thing learnt or to be learnt by a pupil. 4 a an occurrence, example, rebuke, or punishment, that serves or should serve to warn or encourage (let that be a lesson to you). b a thing inculcated by experience or study. 5 a passage from the Bible read aloud during a church service, esp. either of two readings at morning and evening prayer in the Church of England. --v.tr. archaic 1 instruct. 2 admonish, rebuke. Phrases and idioms: learn one's lesson profit from or bear in mind a particular (usu. unpleasant) experience. teach a person a lesson punish a person, esp. as a deterrent. Etymology: ME f. OF leçon f. L lectio -onis: see LECTION

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lesson Les"son (l[e^]s"s'n), n. [OE. lessoun, F. le[,c]on lesson, reading, fr. L. lectio a reading, fr. legere to read, collect. See Legend, and cf. Lection.] 1. Anything read or recited to a teacher by a pupil or learner; something, as a portion of a book, assigned to a pupil to be studied or learned at one time. 2. That which is learned or taught by an express effort; instruction derived from precept, experience, observation, or deduction; a precept; a doctrine; as, to take or give a lesson in drawing.`` A smooth and pleasing lesson.'' --Milton. Emprinteth well this lesson in your mind. --Chaucer. 3. A portion of Scripture read in divine service for instruction; as, here endeth the first lesson. 4. A severe lecture; reproof; rebuke; warning. She would give her a lesson for walking so late. --Sir. P. Sidney. 5. (Mus.) An exercise; a composition serving an educational purpose; a study.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lesson Les"son, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lessoned (-s'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lessoning.] To teach; to instruct. --Shak. To rest the weary, and to soothe the sad, Doth lesson happier men, and shame at least the bad. --Byron.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(lessons) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A lesson is a fixed period of time when people are taught about a particular subject or taught how to do something. It would be his last French lesson for months... Johanna took piano lessons. N-COUNT 2. You use lesson to refer to an experience which acts as a warning to you or an example from which you should learn. There's still one lesson to be learned from the crisis–we all need to better understand the thinking of the other side. N-COUNT: usu sing • If you say that you are going to teach someone a lesson, you mean that you are going to punish them for something that they have done so that they do not do it again. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Exercise (of a learner), task. 2. Instruction, precept. 3. Reproof, rebuke, lecture, censure, lecturing, scolding, chiding.

Moby Thesaurus

admonish, admonishment, admonition, alarm, assignment, call down, castigation, caution, caveat, chalk talk, chastening, chastisement, chide, chiding, class, correction, deterrent, deterrent example, discouragement, discourse, disquisition, drill, example, exemplar, exercise, exposition, final notice, final warning, guide, harangue, hint, homework, homily, instruction, lecture, lecture-demonstration, maxim, message, model, monition, moral, moral lesson, morality, moralization, notice, notification, object lesson, objurgation, paragon, practice, preachment, precept, punishment, rating, reading, rebuke, recital, recitation, reprehension, reprimand, reproach, reprobation, reproof, reproval, schooling, scolding, sermon, session, set task, skull session, spanking, study, talk, task, teaching, threat, tick off, tip-off, tutoring, ultimatum, upbraiding, verbum sapienti, warning, warning piece