Etymologically
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leave

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /liːv/[1]

leave1 to go away

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English leven, inherited from Old English lǣfan (“to let remain; to bequeath”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *laibjanan,[2][3] a causative of the verb meaning “to remain” seen in Old English belīfan and German bleiben,[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *leip- (“to stick, adhere”).[2][4][6] Its relatives include Old Norse leifa (“to leave behind”),[3][5] and in English life and live.[6][7] It is not related to leave2.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To let remain, to have left behind, to bequeath: Old English lǣfan, about 725, in Beowulf.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The Germanic verb seems to have meant only “to remain, continue”, but this is usually explained as a development of the older sense “to stick”.[2] It was at first a strong verb but early became weak.[2] “To leave alone” is recorded in 1127.[3] The sense “to go away, depart” arose about 1200 from the idea of leaving something behind,[2] and Barnhart finds it probably before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle and Layamon.[3] Also from about 1200 it meant “to stop, give up”, “to omit” and “to abandon”.[2] Leave out, “to omit”, is from the late 15th century.[2] The colloquial use for “let, allow” is by 1840, chiefly American according to the OED.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English lǣfan (Beowulf).[3]
  • 1127 – to leave alone.[3]
  • c. 1200 – to go away; to give up.[2]
  • late 15th century – leave out.[2]
  • 1840 – to let, allow.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To go out of or away from; to depart.
  2. To go without taking: left my keys at home.
  3. To have as a result or remainder.
  4. To let remain in a given state: leave the door open.
  5. To have remaining after death; to bequeath.
  6. To hand over to another to deal with.
  7. To abandon or give up.

leave2 permission

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Middle English leve, inherited from Old English lēafe, the dative and accusative of lēaf (“permission”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *laubō,[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *leubh- (“to care, desire, love”), the first idea being approval arising from pleasure.[2][6] Its relatives include Old Norse leyfi (“permission”) and German Urlaub (“leave of absence”),[2][3] and in English lief, love, believe and furlough.[3][2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Permission: Old English lēafe, before 900, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care.[3]

Semantic evolution

The Middle English form leve is found in 1129.[3] The military sense, permission to be absent from duty, is from 1771.[2] The noun also came to mean a departure or farewell, as in take one's leave.[9][5]

Timeline

  • before 900 – Old English lēafe (Alfred).[3]
  • 1129 – Middle English leve.[3]
  • 1771 – leave of absence from military duty.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Permission to do something.
  2. Official permission to be absent from work or duty, or the time allowed.
  3. A departure or farewell: take one's leave.

Usage notes

A third verb leave, “to put forth leaves”, was formed from leaf about 1250.[3][9] The American Heritage Dictionary accepts leave alone in the sense “to refrain from disturbing”, as in leave him alone and he will produce.[9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin