Flines-lès-Mortagne (Nord, Fr) city limit sign

The word ''lès'' (, and with liaison) is an archaic

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

preposition Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...

meaning "near", "next to". Today it occurs only in place names to distinguish places of the same name. The word ''lès'' has two variants: ''lez'' and ''les''. The latter should not be confused with the plural

definite article An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" and "a(n)" a ...

''les'' (e.g. ''les-Bains'', "the Baths").

Etymology

The word ''lès'' and its variants derive from

late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

''latus'', "side".

Examples

Lès

* Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, near

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...

* Beaumont-lès-Valence, near Valence * Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, near Chevreuse * Margny-lès-Compiègne, near

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with ...

* Asnières-lès-Dijon, near

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlie ...

Fontaine-lès-Dijon Fontaine-lès-Dijon () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It is known for the Couvent et Basilique Saint-Bernard, a collection of buildings on the site of the birthplace of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Cl ...

, near

* Hauteville-lès-Dijon, near

Neuilly-lès-Dijon Neuilly-lès-Dijon (, literally ''Neuilly near Dijon'') is a former commune in the Côte-d'Or department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and mi ...

, near

* Perrigny-lès-Dijon, near

* Plombières-lès-Dijon, near

* Sennecey-lès-Dijon, near

Garges-lès-Gonesse Garges-lès-Gonesse (, literally ''Garges near Gonesse'') is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in northern France. It is located in the northern suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. The city is a part of the Paris urban area. It is ...

, near

Gonesse Gonesse () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune lies immediately north of Le Bourget Airport, and it is six kilometres (four miles) south- ...

* Bonchamp-lès-Laval, near Laval *

Fontaine-lès-Luxeuil Fontaine-lès-Luxeuil is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also ...

, near Luxeuil-les-Bains * Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

Montigny-lès-Metz Montigny-lès-Metz (, literally ''Montigny near Metz''; , (1940-1944) ''Montenich'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is the largest suburb of the city of Metz, and is adjacent to it on the west. P ...

, near

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

* Saint-Julien-lès-Metz, near

Flines-lès-Mortagne Flines-lès-Mortagne (, literally ''Flines near Mortagne'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of t ...

, near

Mortagne-du-Nord Mortagne-du-Nord () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies on the border with Belgium, on the river Scheldt. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nor ...

* Essey-lès-Nancy, near Nancy *

Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy (, literally ''Vandœuvre near Nancy'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Vandopériens''. Geography With 29,942 inhabitants (2019), Vandœuvre is the ...

, near Nancy *

Saulxures-lès-Nancy Saulxures-lès-Nancy (, literally ''Saulxures Lès, near Nancy, France, Nancy'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France, located east of Nancy. The Château de Saulxur ...

, near Nancy *

Villers-lès-Nancy Villers-lès-Nancy (, literally ''Villers near Nancy'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Inhabitants are known as ''Villarois''. Geography Villers-lès-Nancy is a suburb on the southwest of Nancy. Th ...

, near Nancy * Déville-lès-Rouen, near

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

Sotteville-lès-Rouen Sotteville-lès-Rouen (, literally ''Sotteville near Rouen'') is a commune and railway town in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography It is the largest suburb of the city of Rouen and adjacent to it, ...

, near

* Nieul-lès-Saintes, near Saintes *

Chambray-lès-Tours Chambray-lès-Tours (, literally ''Chambray near Tours'') is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, central France. It is the birthplace of professional footballer Adam Ounas. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire departmen ...

, near

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

* Joué-lès-Tours, near

* Saint-Martin-lès-Seyne, near

Seyne Seyne (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Sèina'') is a commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in south-east France. It is roughly 30 km north of Digne. The village's official name is listed under the ...

Bourg-lès-Valence Bourg-lès-Valence (; oc, Lo Borg de Valença) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is a suburb of Valence. The archaeologist and Hellenist Fernand Courby (1878–1932) was born in Bourg-lès-Valence. In 2014–2019 ...

, near Valence * Béning-lès-Saint-Avold, near Saint-Avold * Savigny-lès-Beaune, near

Beaune Beaune () is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annua ...

* …

Lez

* Auchy-lez-Orchies, near Orchies * Aulnoy-lez-Valenciennes, near

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

* Bougy-lez-Neuville, near Neuville-aux-Bois * Bruille-lez-Marchiennes, near Marchiennes * Flines-lez-Raches, near

Râches Râches () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes coo ...

* Hallennes-lez-Haubourdin, near

Haubourdin Haubourdin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord ...

Houdain-lez-Bavay Houdain-lez-Bavay (, literally ''Houdain near Bavay'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the Fr ...

, near Bavay * Lambres-lez-Douai, near

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

Lys-lez-Lannoy Lys-lez-Lannoy (, literally ''Lys near Lannoy''; West Flemish: ''Lis by Lannoy'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nor ...

, near Lannoy * Marquette-lez-Lille, near

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

* Mézières-lez-Cléry, near Cléry *

Nissan-lez-Enserune Nissan-lez-Enserune (; oc, Nissa d'Ausseruna, link=no, ), also spelled Nissan-lez-Ensérune, is a French commune in the department of Hérault, region of Occitania, situated just south of Béziers. Its inhabitants are called the Nissanais. Geo ...

, near Enserune *

Poilly-lez-Gien Poilly-lez-Gien (, literally ''Poilly near Gien'') is a commune in the Loiret department, located in north-central France. See also * Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of ...

, near

Gien Gien () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Gien is on the river Loire, from Orléans. Gien station has rail connections to Montargis, Nevers and Paris. The town was bought for the royal domain by Philip II of Franc ...

* Sailly-lez-Cambrai, near

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the ...

* Sailly-lez-Lannoy, near Lannoy * Saint-André-lez-Lille, near

* Saint-Hilaire-lez-Cambrai, near

* Tilloy-lez-Cambrai, near

* Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes, near Marchiennes * Villy-lez-Falaise, near

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebec ...

* …

Les

* Avesnes-les-Aubert, near Aubert * Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, near

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A di ...

Chorey-les-Beaune Chorey-les-Beaune (, literally ''Chorey near Beaune'') is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It lies northeast of the city of Beaune on the plain of the Saône just to the east of the A31 autoroute. Population Wine ...

, near

La Queue-les-Yvelines La Queue-les-Yvelines (official spelling) (written as ''La Queue-lez-Yvelines'' by municipality) () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. People *Louise de Maisonblanche, Baroness of La Qu ...

, near (the historical region of)

Yvelines Yvelines () is a Departments of France, department in the western part of the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Villars-les-Dombes Villars-les-Dombes (, literally ''Villars near Dombes'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Its people are known as ''Villardois''. Geography The town is located within Ain, half-way between Lyon (33 km) and Bourg-en-B ...

, near Dombes

References

{{Reflist Toponymy