# leave

Pronunciation: say "LEEV" US /liv/, UK /liːv/

## Verb

1. To depart, or go away from a place or state.
   - Simple: To go away from a place.
   - _Please leave quietly._
   - _They left before the speeches began._
2. To cause or result in a particular state.
   - Simple: To make someone or something end up in a certain state.
   - _The illness left him weak for months._
   - _Long speeches leave an audience restless._
3. To let something remain, or refrain from taking it away or using it up.
   - Simple: To let something stay where it is, or not use it all up.
   - _Please leave some cake for the others._
   - _Is there any coffee left?_
4. To stop belonging to, working for or living with a group, organization or person, ending one's connection with them.
   - Simple: To stop being part of a group, job or relationship, as in 'leave a club' or 'leave her husband'.
   - _Why would a country leave the union?_
   - _He left the firm after thirty years._
5. To put something somewhere, or give it to someone, and then go away, such as a message, a note, or an item to be collected.
   - Simple: To put something somewhere or give it to someone before you go.
   - _Can I leave a message for Dr. Lee?_
   - _He left the parcel at the front desk._
7. To let someone be, or let them do something, without interfering.
   - Simple: To let someone do something, or stay as they are, without stopping or bothering them.
   - _Leave the children to play._
   - _The teacher left them to work it out alone._
8. To entrust something to someone else's care or judgment, no longer concerning oneself with it.
   - Simple: To hand a job or matter over to someone else to deal with.
   - _Leave the cooking to me tonight._
   - _They left the decision to the courts._
9. To transfer possession of something after death; to bequeath.
   - Simple: To give something to someone in your will.
   - _Before she died, she decided to leave the farm to the neighbor who had worked it for thirty years._
   - _Her grandfather left her a small cottage by the sea in his will._
10. To die and so be parted from someone, a gentle usage with the bereaved as the object, as in "she left us too soon."
   - Simple: To die, said gently by speaking of leaving others, as in "she left us too soon."
   - _Grandfather left us in the spring._
   - _Nobody wants to leave their children too soon._

## Noun

6. Authorized absence from duty, or the period spent away from work with such permission.
   - Simple: Time off from work, with permission.
   - _Soldiers home on leave filled the station._
   - _He took leave without pay to finish the book._
11. Permission, especially in legal contexts.
   - Simple: Permission to do something, often in a court of law.
   - _By your leave, I will sit here._
   - _No one may enter without leave of the court._
15. In games such as billiards, snooker or Scrabble, what remains after a player's turn (the balls' positions or the tiles on the rack), judged by its value for the next turn.
   - Simple: In some games, what is left after a turn, like where the balls are or the letters still on your rack.
   - _The leave after the massé was hopeless._
   - _Professionals think in leaves, not single shots._
16. In cricket, the batsman's act of not attempting to play at the ball.
   - Simple: In cricket, when the batter chooses not to try to hit the ball.
   - _His leaves outside off stump frustrated the bowlers all morning._
   - _Coaches drill young openers on the leave until it becomes second nature._

## Verb

12. To remain behind, or stay. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To stay behind, or remain where you are.
14. To stop or desist from something, with a noun or gerund. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To stop doing something, usually followed by a verb ending in -ing.
17. To produce foliage. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To grow new leaves, as trees and plants do.
18. To raise or levy. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To raise an army or a tax.

## Noun

13. Farewell, or the act of departure. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A goodbye, or the act of going away.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5, 7–10, 12, 14–16** — Old English lǣfan ("to leave") became Middle English leven. It goes back to Proto-Germanic *laibijaną ("to let stay, leave"), the causative of a root meaning "to stay, remain", and in the end to Proto-Indo-European *leyp-. Old Frisian lēva, Old High German leiban and Old Norse leifa are related. The noun is recorded only from the 19th century, first in billiards.
**Meanings 6, 11, 13** — Old English lēaf ("permission, privilege") became Middle English leve. Behind it are Proto-Germanic *laubō ("permission, favor") and the Proto-Indo-European root *lewbʰ- ("to love, hold dear"). Swedish lov and Icelandic leyfi are related, and the word is connected to "love".
**Meaning 17** — From Middle English leven, derived from lef ('leaf'); compare 'leaf'.
**Meaning 18** — From French lever ('to raise'), the same source as levy.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/leave (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).