-lesser-

a. [ This word is formed by adding anew the compar. suffix -er (in which r is from an original s) to less. See Less, a. ] Less; smaller; inferior. [ 1913 Webster ]

God made . . . the lesser light to rule the night. Gen. i. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Lesser is used for less, now the compar. of little, in certain special instances in which its employment has become established by custom; as, Lesser Asia (i. e., Asia Minor), the lesser light, and some others; also in poetry, for the sake of the meter, and in prose where its use renders the passage more euphonious. [ 1913 Webster ]

The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The larger here, and there the lesser lambs. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

By the same reason may a man, in the state of nature, punish the lesser breaches of the law. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]