left
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English [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
From Middle English left, luft, leoft, lift, lyft, from Old English left, lyft (“weak, useless”), from Proto-Germanic *luft- (compare Scots left (“left”), North Frisian lefts, leeft, leefts (“left”), West Frisian lofts (“left”), dialectal Dutch loof (“weak, worthless”), dialectal Low German lucht (“left”), from *lubjanan "to castrate, lop off" (compare dialectal English lib, West Frisian lobje, Dutch lubben), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leup, *(s)lup "hanging limply". More at lob, lop.
Pronunciation [edit]
Adjective [edit]
left (comparative more left; lefter, superlative leftmost)
- The opposite of right; toward the west when one is facing north.
- Turn left at the corner.
- (politics) pertaining to the political left; liberal.
Translations [edit]
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Synonyms [edit]
Antonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Adverb [edit]
left (not comparable)
- On the left side.
- Towards the left side.
Translations [edit]
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Noun [edit]
left (plural lefts)
- The left side or direction.
- (politics) The ensemble of left-wing political parties. Those holding left-wing views as a group.
- The political left is not holding enough power.
- (boxing) A punch delivered with the left fist.
Translations [edit]
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- 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.
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Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Etymology 2 [edit]
Middle English left, variant of laft (“remaining, left”), from Old English lǣfd, ġelǣfd, past participle of lǣfan (“to leave”). More at leave.
Verb [edit]
left
Translations [edit]
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Etymology 3 [edit]
From a verbal use of leave (“permission”), perhaps connected to Middle English leven (“to give leave to, permit, concede”), from Old English līefan, lȳfan (“to allow”). More at leave.
Verb [edit]
left
- (Ireland, colloquial) permitted, allowed to proceed.
- We were not left go to the beach after school except on a weekend.
References [edit]
- The Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, Walter W. Skeat.
Statistics [edit]
Anagrams [edit]
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English adjectives
- en:Politics
- English adverbs
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Boxing
- English simple past forms
- English past participles
- Irish English
- English colloquialisms
- 200 English basic words
- English contranyms
- English irregular past participles
- English irregular simple past forms
- en:Directions