laisser
French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Middle French laisser, from Old French lesser, lessier, laissier (“to let, let go, leave”), from Latin laxāre (“to relax, loosen”); possibly partly from or influenced by Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, leave”) (German lassen), from Proto-West Germanic *lātan (“to let, leave, leave alone”). More at slack.
Conflated also with Old French laiier (“to leave, abandon, allow”) (compare Old Occitan laihar, laiar, Old Northern Italian lagare), also of Germanic origin, from Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lagjan, “to lay, let lie, leave”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjaną (“to lay”).
Cognates
Cognate with Old English slæc (“slack”), Italian lasciare (“to leave, let, allow”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /lɛ.se/ ~ /le.se/
Audio: (file) Audio (Switzerland (Valais)): (file) Audio (France (Paris)): (file) Audio (France (Toulouse)): (file) Audio (France (Vosges)): (file) Audio (France (Brétigny-sur-Orge)): (file) Audio (France (Vosges)): (file) Audio (France (Lyon)): (file) Audio (France (Somain)): (file)
Verb
[edit]laisser
- (transitive) to leave, to leave behind
- Laissez le pistolet sur la table
- Leave the gun on the table
- (transitive) to forget, to leave alone
- (transitive) to leave with, to give
- (transitive) to let, to allow
- (reflexive, se laisser) to allow oneself, to let oneself
Conjugation
[edit]Conjugation of laisser (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | laisser | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | laissant /lɛ.sɑ̃/ or /le.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | laissé /lɛ.se/ or /le.se/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | laisse /lɛs/ |
laisses /lɛs/ |
laisse /lɛs/ |
laissons /lɛ.sɔ̃/ or /le.sɔ̃/ |
laissez /lɛ.se/ or /le.se/ |
laissent /lɛs/ |
| imperfect | laissais /lɛ.sɛ/ or /le.sɛ/ |
laissais /lɛ.sɛ/ or /le.sɛ/ |
laissait /lɛ.sɛ/ or /le.sɛ/ |
laissions /lɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /le.sjɔ̃/ |
laissiez /lɛ.sje/ or /le.sje/ |
laissaient /lɛ.sɛ/ or /le.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | laissai /lɛ.se/ or /le.se/ |
laissas /lɛ.sa/ or /le.sa/ |
laissa /lɛ.sa/ or /le.sa/ |
laissâmes /lɛ.sam/ or /le.sam/ |
laissâtes /lɛ.sat/ or /le.sat/ |
laissèrent /lɛ.sɛʁ/ or /le.sɛʁ/ | |
| future | laisserai /lɛ.sʁe/ or /le.sʁe/ |
laisseras /lɛ.sʁa/ or /le.sʁa/ |
laissera /lɛ.sʁa/ or /le.sʁa/ |
laisserons /lɛ.sʁɔ̃/ or /le.sʁɔ̃/ |
laisserez /lɛ.sʁe/ or /le.sʁe/ |
laisseront /lɛ.sʁɔ̃/ or /le.sʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | laisserais /lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /le.sʁɛ/ |
laisserais /lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /le.sʁɛ/ |
laisserait /lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /le.sʁɛ/ |
laisserions /lɛ.sə.ʁjɔ̃/ or /le.sə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
laisseriez /lɛ.sə.ʁje/ or /le.sə.ʁje/ |
laisseraient /lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /le.sʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | laisse /lɛs/ |
laisses /lɛs/ |
laisse /lɛs/ |
laissions /lɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /le.sjɔ̃/ |
laissiez /lɛ.sje/ or /le.sje/ |
laissent /lɛs/ |
| imperfect2 | laissasse /lɛ.sas/ or /le.sas/ |
laissasses /lɛ.sas/ or /le.sas/ |
laissât /lɛ.sa/ or /le.sa/ |
laissassions /lɛ.sa.sjɔ̃/ or /le.sa.sjɔ̃/ |
laissassiez /lɛ.sa.sje/ or /le.sa.sje/ |
laissassent /lɛ.sas/ or /le.sas/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | laisse /lɛs/ |
— | laissons /lɛ.sɔ̃/ or /le.sɔ̃/ |
laissez /lɛ.se/ or /le.se/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Conjugation of se laisser (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | se laisser | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | s'être + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | se laissant /sə lɛ.sɑ̃/ or /sə le.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant or étant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | laissé /lɛ.se/ or /le.se/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | me laisse /mə lɛs/ |
te laisses /tə lɛs/ |
se laisse /sə lɛs/ |
nous laissons /nu lɛ.sɔ̃/ or /nu le.sɔ̃/ |
vous laissez /vu lɛ.se/ or /vu le.se/ |
se laissent /sə lɛs/ |
| imperfect | me laissais /mə lɛ.sɛ/ or /mə le.sɛ/ |
te laissais /tə lɛ.sɛ/ or /tə le.sɛ/ |
se laissait /sə lɛ.sɛ/ or /sə le.sɛ/ |
nous laissions /nu lɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /nu le.sjɔ̃/ |
vous laissiez /vu lɛ.sje/ or /vu le.sje/ |
se laissaient /sə lɛ.sɛ/ or /sə le.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | me laissai /mə lɛ.se/ or /mə le.se/ |
te laissas /tə lɛ.sa/ or /tə le.sa/ |
se laissa /sə lɛ.sa/ or /sə le.sa/ |
nous laissâmes /nu lɛ.sam/ or /nu le.sam/ |
vous laissâtes /vu lɛ.sat/ or /vu le.sat/ |
se laissèrent /sə lɛ.sɛʁ/ or /sə le.sɛʁ/ | |
| future | me laisserai /mə lɛ.sʁe/ or /mə le.sʁe/ |
te laisseras /tə lɛ.sʁa/ or /tə le.sʁa/ |
se laissera /sə lɛ.sʁa/ or /sə le.sʁa/ |
nous laisserons /nu lɛ.sʁɔ̃/ or /nu le.sʁɔ̃/ |
vous laisserez /vu lɛ.sʁe/ or /vu le.sʁe/ |
se laisseront /sə lɛ.sʁɔ̃/ or /sə le.sʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | me laisserais /mə lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /mə le.sʁɛ/ |
te laisserais /tə lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /tə le.sʁɛ/ |
se laisserait /sə lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /sə le.sʁɛ/ |
nous laisserions /nu lɛ.sə.ʁjɔ̃/ or /nu le.sə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
vous laisseriez /vu lɛ.sə.ʁje/ or /vu le.sə.ʁje/ |
se laisseraient /sə lɛ.sʁɛ/ or /sə le.sʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of s'être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | me laisse /mə lɛs/ |
te laisses /tə lɛs/ |
se laisse /sə lɛs/ |
nous laissions /nu lɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /nu le.sjɔ̃/ |
vous laissiez /vu lɛ.sje/ or /vu le.sje/ |
se laissent /sə lɛs/ |
| imperfect2 | me laissasse /mə lɛ.sas/ or /mə le.sas/ |
te laissasses /tə lɛ.sas/ or /tə le.sas/ |
se laissât /sə lɛ.sa/ or /sə le.sa/ |
nous laissassions /nu lɛ.sa.sjɔ̃/ or /nu le.sa.sjɔ̃/ |
vous laissassiez /vu lɛ.sa.sje/ or /vu le.sa.sje/ |
se laissassent /sə lɛ.sas/ or /sə le.sas/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of s'être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | laisse-toi /lɛs.twa/ |
— | laissons-nous /lɛ.sɔ̃.nu/ or /le.sɔ̃.nu/ |
laissez-vous /lɛ.se.vu/ or /le.se.vu/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | — | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
[edit]- à prendre ou à laisser
- laisse béton
- laisse-moi rire
- laisser à désirer
- laisser de côté
- laisser en plan
- laisser en plant
- laisser entendre
- laisser la parole
- laisser pour compte
- laisser pour mort
- laisser sa peau
- laisser sur sa faim
- laisser tomber
- laisser tranquille
- laissez faire
- laissez les bons temps rouler
- laissez vibrer
- laissez-moi rire
- ne pas laisser pierre sur pierre
- sot-l’y-laisse
- y laisser des plumes
Related terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]- → Breton: lezel
Further reading
[edit]- “laisser”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
Anagrams
[edit]Middle French
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Old French lesser, lessier, laissier (“to let, let go, leave”), from Latin laxō, laxāre (“to relax, loosen”); partly from or influenced by Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, leave”) (German lassen), from Proto-West Germanic *lātan (“to let, leave, leave alone”).
Verb
[edit]laisser
- to allow; to permit
- to leave (not take)
- to leave alone (not interfere)
- 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 74:
- [ie] vous prie que vous me laissiez ceste bataille
- I beg of you to let me go into this battle alone
Conjugation
[edit]- Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of laisser
| infinitive | simple | laisser | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle1 or gerund2 | simple | laissant | |||||
| compound | present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | laissé | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | ie (i’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | laisse | laisses | laisse | laissons | laissez | laissent |
| imperfect | laissois, laissoys | laissois, laissoys | laissoit, laissoyt | laissions, laissyons | laissiez, laissyez | laissoient, laissoyent | |
| past historic | laissa | laissas | laissa | laissasmes | laissastes | laisserent | |
| future | laisserai, laisseray | laisseras | laissera | laisserons | laisserez | laisseront | |
| conditional | laisserois, laisseroys | laisserois, laisseroys | laisseroit, laisseroyt | laisserions, laisseryons | laisseriez, laisseryez | laisseroient, laisseroyent | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que ie (i’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ilz, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | laisse | laisses | laisse | laissons | laissez | laissent |
| imperfect | laissasse | laissasses | laissast | laissassions | laissassiez | laissassent | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | laisse | — | laissons | laissez | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679. | |||||||
| 2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180). | |||||||
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]Categories:
- French terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- French terms inherited from Middle French
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms inherited from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms derived from Old High German
- French terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
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- Middle French terms inherited from Old French
- Middle French terms derived from Old French
- Middle French terms inherited from Latin
- Middle French terms derived from Latin
- Middle French terms derived from Old High German
- Middle French terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle French lemmas
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