leave

English Online Dictionary. What means leave‎? What does leave mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, Canada) IPA^(key): /liːv/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /liv/
• Rhymes: -iːv

Etymology 1

From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of *lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat”).

Cognate with Old Frisian lēva (“to leave”), Old Saxon lēvian, Old High German leiban (“to leave”), Old Norse leifa (“to leave over”) (whence Icelandic leifa (“to leave food uneaten”)), lifna (“to be left”) (whence Danish levne). More at lave, belive.

The noun is attested since the 19th century, with earliest references to billiards.

Verb

leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle left)

1. To have a consequence or remnant.
   1. (transitive) To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely.
   2. (transitive or intransitive, copulative) To cause, to result in.
   4. (transitive) To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver, with a sense of withdrawing oneself.
2. To depart; to separate from.
   1. (transitive) To let be or do without interference.

   3. (transitive) To depart from; to end one's connection or affiliation with.
   4. (transitive) To end one's membership in (a group); to terminate one's affiliation with (an organization); to stop participating in (a project).
      • 2018, The Independent, "Brexit: Theresa May 'not bluffing' in threat to leave EU without a deal, Tory minister Liam Fox says"

        If we were to leave, the economic impact on a number of European countries would be severe.

   5. (intransitive) To depart; to go away from a certain place or state.

3. To transfer something.
   1. (transitive) To transfer possession of after death.

   2. (transitive) To give (something) to someone; to deliver (something) to a repository; to deposit.

   3. (transitive) To transfer responsibility or attention of (something) (to someone); to stop being concerned with.

4. (intransitive, obsolete) To remain (behind); to stay.
5. (transitive, archaic) To stop, desist from; to "leave off" (+ noun / gerund).

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (to depart): See Thesaurus:leave
• (to end one's connection with): depart, forget, leave behind

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Russian: лива́ть (livátʹ), ливну́ть (livnútʹ)
• → Ukrainian: ліва́ти (liváty), лівну́ти (livnúty)

Translations

Noun

leave (plural leaves)

1. (cricket) The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.
2. (billiards) The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter — who may be either the same player, or an opponent — has good options, or only poor ones).

Etymology 2

From Middle English leve, from Old English lēaf (“permission, privilege”), from Proto-Germanic *laubō, *laubą (“permission, privilege, favour, worth”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, hold dear”). Cognate with obsolete German Laube (“permission”), Swedish lov (“permission”), Icelandic leyfi (“permission”). Related to Dutch verlof, German Erlaubnis. See also love.

Noun

leave (countable and uncountable, plural leaves)

2. Permission to be absent; time away from one's work.

   Synonyms: annual leave, holiday; see also Thesaurus:vacation

4. (dated or law) Permission.

   Synonyms: authorisation, consent
5. (dated) Farewell, departure.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English leven, from Old English līefan (“to allow, grant, concede; believe, trust, confide in”), from Proto-West Germanic *laubijan, from Proto-Germanic *laubijaną (“to allow, praise”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, hold dear”). Cognate with German lauben (“to allow, believe”), Icelandic leyfa (“to allow”).

Verb

leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle leaved or left)

1. (transitive) To give leave to; allow; permit; let; grant.

Etymology 4

From Middle English leven, from lef (“leaf”). More at leaf.

Verb

leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle leaved)

1. (intransitive, rare) To produce leaves or foliage.

Synonyms

• leaf (verb)

Translations

Etymology 5

From French lever. Compare levy. Compare also Middle English leve, a variant of levy that may have been monosyllabic.

Verb

leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle leaved)

1. (obsolete) To raise; to levy.

References

• “leave”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “leave”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Veale, veale