I. ˈles ə n noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English lessoun, from Old French leçon, lecon lesson, reading, from Late Latin lection-, lectio, from Latin, act of reading, from lectus (past participle of legere to read) + -ion-, io -ion — more at legend
1. : a portion of Scripture read for instruction as part of a worship service
here endeth the first lesson
2.
a. : a piece of instruction : teaching
the lesson intended by an author — G.B.Shaw
the second of the great lessons of Quakerism … respect for the individual — H.S.Canby
specifically : a reading or exercise assigned to a pupil as part of his schoolwork
get out your books and study your lessons
lessons to be got and recited — H.C.McKown
b. : a fact, principle, or technique learned or to be learned by study or experience
many revealing lessons of past experience have been overlooked — Bruce Payne
the lessons of the flood also emphasize … that the landward side of the banks needs protection — J.A.Steers
teach a horse his lessons — Ephraim Chambers
3.
a. : one of the segments into which a course of instruction is divided
this textbook presents the material in 20 lessons
specifically : a period of formal instruction devoted to a single subject and usually lasting no more than an hour
music lesson
French lesson
finished her lessons with the governess — Audrey Barker
b. : an object or event from which knowledge may be derived : instructive example
the lesson of Coventry should be accepted by … every American city that is at all vulnerable to enemy air raids — Training Manual for Auxiliary Firemen
he stands, a lesson to us in integrity — C.D.Lewis
specifically : a rebuke or punishment intended to forestall the repetition of an offense
sent the culprit to the office and let the principal give him a lesson
4.
a. obsolete : an instrumental piece or set of pieces especially for a keyboard instrument — compare suite 2b
b. : an exercise or study serving to advance musical knowledge or proficiency
II. transitive verb
( lessoned ; lessoned ; lessoning -s( ə )niŋ ; lessons )
1. : to give a lesson to : instruct
lessoned his contemporaries in the platitudes — Clement Wood
I look at it, I talk to it, I lesson it and plead — Don Marquis
2. : lecture , rebuke , punish
I'll lesson you, you madman — Mary Johnston
the lessoning of a naughty Christian Europe — James Binder