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):

    (file)

• 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 page number)”, in Fulke Greville, Matthew Gwinne, and John Florio, editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC; republished in Albert Feuillerat, editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia (Cambridge English Classics: The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney; I), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1912, →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
• lesson plan
• lessons learned
• life lesson
• life's lesson
• lime lesson
• 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)

  Egyptian Arabic: درس m (dars)

  South Levantine Arabic: درس m (dars)

• 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)
• 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)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: undervisningstime m

  Nynorsk: undervisingstime m

• Occitan: leiçon (oc) f, lecçon f
• Oromo: barumsa
• Pashto: درس (ps) m (dars), لوست m (lwəst), سبق (ps) m (sabaq)
• Persian:

  Dari: دَرْس (fa) (dars)

  Iranian Persian: دَرْس (fa) (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 (fa) (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)

• 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: Printed for 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