Least vs Beast - What's the difference?
least | beast |
(little);The smallest amount of [something .
* 1857 , (Edmund March Blunt), The American Coast Pilot: Containing Directions for the Principal Harbors , E. & G.W. Blunt, page 135:
* John Duncan, Duncan's Travels
* , chapter=5
, title= *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
, passage=Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.}}
* 2004 , Jim Baggott, Beyond Measure: Modern Physics, Philosophy, and the Meaning of Quantum Theory , Oxford University Press, page 48:
Used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est .
In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others.
Any animal other than a human; usually only applied to land vertebrates, especially large or dangerous four-footed ones.
(more specific) A domestic animal, especially a bovine farm animal.
*
*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=7 A person who behaves in a violent, antisocial or uncivilized manner.
(slang) A large and impressive automobile.
(slang, prisons) A sex offender.
* 1994 , Elaine Player, Michael Jenkins, Prisons After Woolf: Reform Through Riot (page 190)
* 1994 , Adam Sampson, Acts of Abuse: Sex Offenders And the Criminal Justice System (page 83)
(figuratively) Something unpleasant and difficult.
* 2000 , Tom Clancy, The Bear and the Dragon , Berkley (2001), ISBN 9780425180969,
* 2006 , Heather Burt, Adam's Peak , Dundurn Press (2006), ISBN 9781550026467,
* 2011 , :
(British, military) to impose arduous exercises, either as training or as punishment.
(slang) great; excellent; powerful
* 1999 , "Jason Chue", AMD K6-2 350mhz, FIC VA503+, LGS 64mb PC100 sdram'' (on newsgroup ''jaring.pcbase )
* 2012 , Katie McGarry, Pushing the Limits (page 37)
As a determiner least
is (little);the smallest amount of [something.As an adverb least
is used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est .As a proper noun beast is
(biblical) a figure in the book of revelation (apocalypse), often identified with satan or the antichrist.least
English
Determiner
(en-det) (comparative less)- The least water we could find there was 4 fathoms, which bears from the point S.E., and is distant 1½ mile.
- To have demolished and rebuilt the walls, would have been a very costly expedient, and as the least of two evils, the painter's brush was resorted to; here and there however, above some of the windows, the black wreathings of the smoke are still discernible through the white covering.
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=“Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.}}
- Light does not need to know in advance which is the path of least time because it takes all paths from its source to its destination.
Usage notes
Some grammarians recommend to use least'' only with uncountable nouns, as in the examples above with the ''smallest amount of sense: * 1965 , H. W. Fowler, Fowler’s Modern English Usage: Second Edition : *: [W]hen the context—unemotional statement of everyday facts—is taken into account, at a less price'' ought to be ''at a lower price'', and ''a lesser prize'' ought to be ''a smaller prize . To such grammarians least'' is the superlative of ''a little'', not that of ''little'', so it does not mean ''smallest'', but ''the smallest amount of''. With plural nouns, they recommend ''fewest .Adverb
- It was the least surprising thing.
- to reward those who least deserve it
Antonyms
* mostDerived terms
(terms derived from "least") * at least * last but not least * least bittern * least common denominator * least flycatcher * least of all * least resistance * least sandpiper * least shrew * least upper bound * least weasel * log-linear least-squares method * method of least squares * not the least bit * path of least resistance * to say the leastStatistics
*Anagrams
* English degree adverbsbeast
English
(wikipedia beast)Noun
(en noun)- Boxer was an enormous beast , nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together.
citation, passage=‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared. […]’}}
- Shouts had been heard: 'We're coming to kill you, beasts .' In desperation, Rule 43s had tried to barricade their doors
- For many prisoners and in many prisons, antipathy towards 'nonces' or 'beasts' is little more than an idea
page 905:
- Even unopposed, the natural obstacles are formidable, and defending his line of advance will be a beast of a problem."
page 114:
- He'd be in the hospital a few days — broken collarbone, a cast on his arm, a beast of a headache — but fine.
- And, oh, poor Atlas / The world's a beast of a burden / You've been holding up a long time
Derived terms
* beastly * saddle beastSee also
* belluine (suppletive adjective)Derived terms
* beast fable * beast of burden * beast of draft * beast of prey * beastie * beastly * beastmaster * beauty and the beast * king of beasts * lobola-beast * belly of the beastVerb
(en verb)Adjective
(en adjective)- There is another type from Siemens which is the HYB 39S64XXX(AT/ATL) -8B version (notice the "B" and the end) which is totally beast altogether.
- Translation: a piece of crap, but the rest of the car was totally beast .