Leave | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Leave, n.

noun

(leev), n. [A-S. leaf, Icel. leyfi, Sw. lof, Dan. lov, Icel. orlof, D. oorlof, verlof, O. Sax. orlobh, Ger. urlaub, verlaub; A-S. lefan, lyfan, to permit, allow, Icel. leyfa, O. H. Ger. laubjan, orlaubjan, N. H. Ger. erlauben; Goth. laubyan, to believe. Cf. FURLOUGH and BELIEVE.] 1. Liberty granted by which restraint or illegality is removed; permission; allowance; license. David earnestly asked leave of me. 1 Sam. xx. 6. No friend has leave to bear away the dead. Dryden. 2. A formal parting of friends; farewell; adieu; — used chiefly in the phrase to take leave. Syn. — Liberty; permission; license. — LEAVE, LIBERTY, PERMISSION, LICENSE. Leave denotes that he who obtains it may decide whether to use it or not; as, leave of absence. Liberty supposes that all obstructions in the way of his using it are removed and set aside; as, liberty of access. Permission implies a formal consent given by one who had the right to refuse it; as, permission to depart. License denotes that this consent extends to a mode of acting for which special permission is required; as, a license to print. An orator asks leave to speak; liberty is granted him; he construes this permission into a license to abuse his opponents, and acts accordingly.

Leave, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. LEFT; p. pr. & vb. n. LEAVING.] [A-S. lēfan, to leave, Icel. leifa, to leave, have left, O. Sax. lebian, libban, O. Fries. levan, lava, livon, O. H. Ger. lipan, pilipan, biliban, M. H. Ger. liben, beliben, bilben, N. H. Ger. bleiben, Dan. levne, Sw. lemna, Goth. as if leiban, allied to Lat. linquere, liqui, and Gr. λείπειν.] 1. To withdraw or depart from; to quit for a longer or shorter time. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. Gen. ii. 24. 2. To part from never to return; to forsake; to desert; to abandon; to relinquish. They meet, and all combine to leave the state, Who hate the tyrant, or who fear his hate. Dryden. 3. To suffer to remain; not to take or remove. “Nor is Pygmalion’s treasure left behind.” Dryden.

To have remaining at death; as, to leave a good name; hence, to give by will; to bequeath; as, to leave a legacy to a daughter.
To commit or trust to, as a deposit; or to suffer to remain; to intrust; as, I left the papers in the care of the consul.
To permit or allow; to refer.

Whether Esau were a vassal, I leave to the reader to judge. Locke. 7. To cease or desist from; to forbear. Let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. 1 Sam. ix. 5. To be left to one’s self, to be deserted or forsaken; to be permitted to follow one’s own opinions or desires. — To leave off. (a.) To desist from; to forbear; as, to leave off work at six o’clock. (b.) To cease wearing; as, to leave off a garment. (c.) To forsake; as, to leave off an old acquaintance. — To leave out, to omit; as, to leave out a word or name in writing. Syn. — To quit; depart from; forsake; abandon; relinquish; commit; intrust; give; bequeath; permit; allow; desist; forbear. See QUIT.

Leave, v. i.

verbintransitive

To cease; to desist. He searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest. Gen. xliv. 12. To leave off, to cease; to desist; to stop. Leave off, and for another summons wait. Roscommon.

Lēave, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. [Eng. leaf.] To send out leaves; to leaf;—often with out.

Lēave, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [Fr. lever. See LAVE and LEVY.] To raise; to levy. [Obs.] “An army strong she leaved.” Spenser.