lesson

English

Etymology

From Middle English lessoun, from Old French leçon, from Latin lēctiō, lēctiōnem (“a reading”), from legō (“I read, I gather”). Doublet of lection.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛsən/, [ˈlɛsn̩]

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

  • Audio (US):

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• Homophone: lessen
• Hyphenation: les‧son
• Rhymes: -ɛsən

Verb

lesson (third-person singular simple present lessons, present participle lessoning, simple past and past participle lessoned)

1. (archaic) To instruct to teach.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter X, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 107:

     And you, my sister—you, who lesson me on endurance, your cheek is pale, and your step languid; even with you, how much has life lost its interest!

Noun

lesson (plural lessons)

1. A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.

   In our school a typical working week consists of around twenty lessons and ten hours of related laboratory work.

2. A learning task assigned to a student; homework.
3. Something learned or to be learned.

   Nature has many lessons to teach to us.

4. Something that serves as a warning or encouragement.

   I hope this accident taught you a lesson!

   The accident was a good lesson to me.

5. A section of the Bible or other religious text read as part of a divine service.

   Here endeth the first lesson.

6. A severe lecture; reproof; rebuke; warning.
   • a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:

     She would give her a lesson for walking so late.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; […] . Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.

7. (music) An exercise; a composition serving an educational purpose; a study.

Synonyms

• lear
• (religious reading): lection

Derived terms

• double lesson
• e-lesson
• epistle lesson
• learn one's lesson
• lessoner
• lesson plan
• lessons learned
• life lesson
• life's lesson
• lime lesson
• microlesson
• minilesson
• object lesson
• teach someone a lesson

Related terms

• lectern
• lection
• lecture

Translations

section of learning or teaching

Albanian: mësim (sq) m Amharic: ትምህርት (təmhərt) Arabic: دَرْس (ar) m (dars), حِصَّة (ar) f (ḥiṣṣa) Egyptian Arabic: درس m (dars) South Levantine Arabic: درس m (dars), حِصَّة f (ḥiṣṣa) Armenian: դաս (hy) (das) Avar: дарс (dars) Azerbaijani: dərs (az) Baluchi: سبک (sabak), سبق (sabaq), درس (dars) Bashkir: дәрес (dəres), (rare) һабаҡ (habaq) Basque: ikasgai Belarusian: уро́к (be) m (urók), ўрок m (ŭrok), ле́кцыя f (ljékcyja) Bengali: শিক্ষা (bn) (śikkha), পাঠ (bn) (paṭh), সবক (bn) (sôbôk), দরস (bn) (dôrôs) Bhojpuri: सबक (sabak) Breton: kentel (br) f Bulgarian: уро́к (bg) m (urók), ле́кция (bg) f (lékcija) Burmese: သင်ခန်းစာ (my) (sanghkan:ca) Catalan: lliçó (ca) f Chechen: дарс (dars) Chinese: Mandarin: 課業 / 课业 (zh) (kèyè), -課 / -课 (zh) (-kè) (suffix) Czech: lekce (cs) f, vyučovací hodina f Danish: time (da) Dutch: les (nl) f Esperanto: leciono Estonian: õppetund Finnish: oppitunti (fi), luento (fi) French: leçon (fr) f Friulian: lezion f, lizion f Georgian: გაკვეთილი (ka) (gaḳvetili) German: Lehrstunde (de) f, Stunde (de) f, Lektion (de) f, Unterricht (de) m Greek: μάθημα (el) n (máthima) Ancient: μάθημα n (máthēma) Hawaiian: haʻawina Hebrew: שיעור / שִׁעוּר (he) m (shi'úr) Hindi: पाठ (hi) m (pāṭh), सबक़ m (sabaq) Hungarian: lecke (hu), óra (hu), tanóra (hu) Icelandic: kennslustund f Indonesian: pelajaran (id) Ingrian: urokka, läksy Interlingua: lection Irish: ceacht m Italian: lezione (it) f Japanese: 授業 (ja) (じゅぎょう, jugyō), 学科 (ja) (がっか, gakka), 課 (ja) (-か, -ka) (suffix), レッスン (ja) (ressun) Kalmyk: кичәл (kiçäl) Kazakh: сабақ (sabaq), дәріс (därıs) Khmer: មេរៀន (mei riən) Korean: 수업(授業) (ko) (sueop), 과(課) (ko) (gwa) (suffix) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: دەرس (ders) Northern Kurdish: ders (ku) Kyrgyz: сабак (ky) (sabak), дарыс (ky) (darıs) Ladino: lisión Lao: ບົດຮຽນ (lo) (bot hīan) Latin: documentum n, auditio f Latvian: mācība f, stunda f Lithuanian: pamoka (lt) f Luxembourgish: Stonn (lb) f, Lektioun f Macedonian: лекција f (lekcija) Malay: pengajaran, pelajaran Malayalam: പാഠം (ml) (pāṭhaṁ), അദ്ധ്യായം (ml) (addhyāyaṁ) Maltese: lezzjoni f Manx: lessoon m Maori: akoranga, whakaakoranga Marathi: धडा m (dhaḍā) Mongolian: Cyrillic: хичээл (mn) (xičeel) Ngazidja Comorian: darasa class 9/10 Norman: léçon f (Jersey), leçaon f (Guernsey) North Frisian: (Sylt) Önerrocht c Norwegian: Bokmål: undervisningstime m Nynorsk: undervisingstime m Occitan: leiçon (oc) f, lecçon f Oromo: barumsa Ottoman Turkish: درس (ders) Pashto: درس (ps) m (dars), لوست m (lwəst), سبق (ps) m (sabaq) Persian: Dari: دَرْس (dars) Iranian Persian: دَرْس (dars) Plautdietsch: Oppgow f Polish: lekcja (pl) f Portuguese: lição (pt) f Romanian: lecție (ro) f Russian: уро́к (ru) m (urók), ле́кция (ru) f (lékcija) (lecture) Sanskrit: पाठ (sa) m (pāṭha) Scottish Gaelic: leasan m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: лѐкција f Roman: lèkcija (sh) f Slovak: lekcia f Slovene: lekcija f Spanish: lección (es) f Swahili: funzo (sw) Swedish: lektion (sv) c Tabasaran: дарс (dars) Tajik: дарс (tg) (dars) Tatar: дәрес (tt) (däres), гыйбрәт (tt) (ğıybrät) Telugu: పాఠం (te) (pāṭhaṁ) Thai: บทเรียน (th) (bòt-riian) Tibetan: སློབ་ཚན (slob tshan) Tigrinya: ትምህርቲ (təmhərti) Tok Pisin: leson Turkish: ders (tr), çimke (tr), sebak Turkmen: sapak, ders Tuvan: кичээл (kiçeel) Ukrainian: уро́к m (urók), ле́кція f (lékcija) Urdu: دَرْس m (dars), سَبَق m or m (sabaq) Uyghur: دەرس (ders) Uzbek: dars (uz), saboq (uz) Vietnamese: bài (vi), bài học (vi) Volapük: lärnod (vo) Welsh: gwers (cy) f White Hmong: please add this translation if you can Yiddish: אויפֿגאַבע f (oyfgabe), לעקציע f (lektsye) Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

learning task assigned to a student

Armenian: դաս (hy) (das) Bashkir: дәрес (dəres), (homework) өйгә эш (öygə eş) Bengali: সবক (bn) (sôbôk) Danish: lektie c Finnish: läksy (fi), kotitehtävä (fi), tehtävä (fi) French: devoirs (fr) m pl German: Schularbeit (de) f, Hausaufgabe (de) f Greek: μαθήματα (el) n pl (mathímata), εργασία (el) f (ergasía), άσκηση (el) f (áskisi) Hawaiian: haʻawina Hebrew: יעורים / שִׁעוּרִים m (shi'urím) Hindi: पाठ (hi) m (pāṭh) Hungarian: lecke (hu), házi feladat (hu) Ingrian: urokka, läksy Irish: ceacht m Kalmyk: кичәл (kiçäl) Korean: 과(課) (ko) (gwa) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: دەرس (ders) Malayalam: പാഠം (ml) (pāṭhaṁ) Manx: lessoon m Maori: akoranga Norwegian: Bokmål: lekse f or m Nynorsk: lekse f Persian: Iranian Persian: تَکْلیف (taklif) Plautdietsch: Oppgow f Polish: praca domowa (pl) f, lekcje f pl (colloquial) Portuguese: lição (pt) f, tarefa (pt) f Russian: уро́к (ru) m (urók) Scottish Gaelic: leasan m Swahili: somo (sw) Swedish: läxa (sv) c Telugu: పాఠం (te) (pāṭhaṁ) Tuvan: кичээл (kiçeel)

something learned

Arabic: دَرْس (ar) m (dars) Armenian: դաս (hy) (das) Bashkir: һабаҡ (habaq) Bengali: সবক (bn) (sôbôk) Bulgarian: урок (bg) m (urok) Czech: ponaučení Finnish: opetus (fi) French: leçon (fr) f German: Lehre (de) f Greek: δίδαγμα (el) n (dídagma), μάθημα (el) n (máthima) Hebrew: מוּסַר הַשְׂכֵּל (he) m (musár haskél), לֶקַח (he) m (lékakh) Ingrian: urokka, läksy Irish: ceacht m Korean: 수업(授業) (ko) (sueop) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: دەرس (ders) Latin: documentum n, auditio f Luxembourgish: Léier f Malayalam: പാഠം (ml) (pāṭhaṁ) Manx: lessoon m Maori: akoranga Mongolian: Cyrillic: сургамж (mn) (surgamž) Ottoman Turkish: درس (ders) Polish: lekcja (pl) f Portuguese: lição (pt) Romanian: lecție (ro) Russian: уро́к (ru) m (urók) Scottish Gaelic: leasan m Spanish: lección (es) f Swahili: funzo (sw) Swedish: läxa (sv) c Tuvan: кичээл (kiçeel) Vietnamese: bài học (vi) Volapük: lärnod (vo)

something that serves as a warning or encouragement

Arabic: عِبْرَة (ar) f (ʕibra) Armenian: դաս (hy) (das) Azerbaijani: ibrət Basque: eskarmentu Bulgarian: поука (bg) f (pouka) Czech: ponaučení Finnish: läksy (fi), opetus (fi) French: leçon (fr) f German: Lehre (de) f Greek: μάθημα (el) n (máthima) Hebrew: לֶקַח (he) m (lékakh) Hungarian: tanulság (hu) Korean: 교훈(敎訓) (ko) (gyohun) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: دەرس (ders) Latin: documentum n, auditio Luxembourgish: Léier f Malayalam: പാഠം (ml) (pāṭhaṁ) Manx: lessoon m Maori: iro (an unpleasant experience) Norwegian: Bokmål: lærepenge m Nynorsk: lærepenge m Polish: lekcja (pl) f, nauka (pl) f, nauczka (pl) f (colloquial) Portuguese: lição (pt) f Romanian: lecție (ro) Russian: уро́к (ru) m (urók) Scottish Gaelic: leasan m Swahili: funzo (sw) Swedish: läxa (sv) c Turkish: ibret (tr) Vietnamese: bài học (vi)

section of the Bible or other religious text read as part of a divine service

Esperanto: legaĵo Finnish: sana (fi) French: lecture (fr) f German: Schriftlesung f Hungarian: szentlecke (hu) Irish: ceacht m Latin: lectio f Maori: tuhinga Polish: czytanie (pl) n, lekcja (pl) f Portuguese: lição (pt) f Spanish: lección (es) f Swahili: funzo (sw)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Old Occitan: (please verify) leyçon Spanish: (please verify) lección (es) f

Verb

lesson (third-person singular simple present lessons, present participle lessoning, simple past and past participle lessoned)

1. To give a lesson to; to teach.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     her owne daughter Pleasure, to whom shee
     Made her companion, and her lessoned
     In all the lore of loue, and goodly womanhead.

   • 1812, Lord Byron, “Canto II”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, stanza LXVIII:

     To rest the weary, and to soothe the sad,
     Doth lesson happier men, and shame at least the bad.

Translations

to give a lesson; to teach

Bulgarian: уча (bg) (uča), давам урок (davam urok) Finnish: opettaa (fi) Greek: διδάσκω (el) (didásko), δασκαλεύω (el) (daskalévo) Korean: 훈계하다 (ko) (hun'gyehada) Malayalam: പഠിപ്പിക്കുക (ml) (paṭhippikkuka)

See also

• lesson on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Lesson in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Elsons, Slones, no less, nosels, nosles, solens

Middle English

Noun

lesson

1. alternative form of lessoun