leave
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology 1
Old English lǣfan, from Proto-Germanic. Cognate to Old Norse leifa (“‘leave over’”) (whence Danish blive and Old Norse lifna (“‘to be left’”) > Danish levne), German bleiben.
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to leave (third-person singular simple present leaves, present participle leaving, simple past and past participle left)
- (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.
- I left my car at home and took a bus to work.
- The ants did not leave so much as a crumb of bread.
- There's not much food left, we'd better go to the shops.
- (transitive) To transfer possession of after death.
- When my father died, he left me the house.
- (transitive) To give (something) to someone; to deliver (something) to a repository; to deposit.
- I'll leave the car in the station so you can pick it up there.
- (transitive) To transfer responsibility or attention of (something) (to someone); to stop being concerned with.
- Can't we just leave this to the experts?
- (transitive) To depart from; to end one's connection or affiliation with.
- I left the country and I left my wife.
- (transitive) To end one's membership in (a group); to terminate one's affiliation with (an organization); to stop participating in (a project).
- I left the band.
- (intransitive) To depart; to go away from a certain place or state.
- I think you'd better leave.
- (intransitive, obsolete) To remain (behind); to stay.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VII:
- And by myssefortune Sir Bors smote Sir Launcelot thorow the shylde into the syde, and the speare brake and the hede leffte stylle in the syde.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VII:
[edit] Synonyms
- (to end one's connection with): depart, forget, leave behind
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from the verb "leave"
[edit] Translations
To cause to remain as available, not take away, refrain from depleting
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To transfer possession after death
To give (something) to someone; to deliver (something) to a repository; to deposit
To transfer responsibility or attention
To depart from, end one's connection or affiliation with
To depart (intransitive)
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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[edit] Etymology 2
Old English lēaf. Cognate with obsolete German Laube.
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
leave (plural leaves)
- Permission to be absent; time away from one's work.
- I've been given three weeks' leave by my boss.
- (dated or law) Permission.
- Might I beg leave to accompany you?
- The applicant now seeks leave to appeal and, if leave be granted, to appeal against these sentences.
- (dated) Farewell, departure.
- I took my leave of the gentleman without a backward glance.
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun "leave"
[edit] Translations
permission
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absence from work
departure
[edit] References
- leave in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- leave in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913