laisser

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lɛ.se/^[1]
• IPA: /le.se/^[1]

Forms

laisser^[1] Old French laissier, lessier and lesser, lazsier in the Eulalie.^[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French laissier, inherited from Latin laxō (“to loosen, slacken; to release; to leave”), from laxus (“loose, slack”).^[4][2][5][6] Besides “to loosen, release”, the Latin verb meant “to quit, abandon, give up” and, in Late Latin, “to allow”, with an infinitive from the 5th–6th centuries.^[2] It is related to lâcher.^[1][2]

Old French also had a verb laier, still used in Picardy, Lorraine and Franche-Comté and behind délai and relais, Rey derives it from a Late Latin “*laggare”, an early alteration of “laxāre” after a Gaulish “*laggos” “slack”, while Wiktionary takes it from Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (lagjan, “to lay”) and Diez, cited by Littré, from Latin lēgō (“to bequeath”).^[2][1][7] Wiktionary also allows some influence of Old High German lāzan (“to let”).^[1]

Cognate with Romanian lăsa, Italian lasciare, Occitan laissar, Catalan deixar, Spanish dejar and Portuguese deixar; the /d/ of the Spanish and some southern forms is unexplained.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 881 in the Séquence de sainte Eulalie, both with an infinitive, a lui nos laist venir “may he let us come to him”, and in the sense “to leave, abandon”: volt lo seule lazsier “she wants to leave the world”.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

The main senses of the Latin verb had passed into French by the end of the 12th century.^[2] With an infinitive it expresses permission (laisser entrer, about 881, laisser courre, about 1050), also reflexively (se laisser mourir, about 1160).^[4][2] Se laisser aller (1617) came to mean “to give way to one's inclinations” and “to neglect oneself” (1656).^[2] The verb also meant “to keep in a state” (late 10th century), “to release” (1176–1181) and “to permit” (1160–1174).^[4]

The sense of separation, “to go away from” a place or person, is as old (about 881), and, from it came “to leave behind” what one cannot take (about 1100), “to bequeath” (about 1100, Roland), and “to leave a mark or trace” (16th century, laisser un mauvais goût, 1690).^[4][2][10] The sense “to give up, refrain from” is found from the 10th century; the classical ne pas laisser de “not to fail to” goes back to the 11th, while ne pas laisser que de was condemned by Thomas Corneille in 1687.^[2][4] The noun lais “legacy” (1250) was respelled legs in the 15th century after Latin lēgātum, which cut it off from laisser.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 881 – Lazsier in the Séquence de sainte Eulalie.^[4][3]
• c. 1050 – Laisser courre in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[4]
• c. 1100 – “To bequeath” in the Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• c. 1160 – Se laisser mourir.^[4]
• 15th century – Lais “legacy” respelled legs.^[9]
• 1617 – Se laisser aller.^[2]
• 1675 – Laissez-passer.^[9]
• 1687 – Thomas Corneille condemns ne pas laisser que de.^[4]
• 1786 – Laisser-aller.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. With an infinitive: to let, allow: laisser partir quelqu'un, laisser tomber.^[3][11]
2. To leave in a certain state: laisser la porte ouverte, laisser quelqu'un tranquille.^[4][12]
3. To leave, go away from a person or place.^[7][1]
4. To leave behind, by choice or by oversight: laisser ses clés à la maison.^[5][1]
5. To leave to someone, to bequeath or entrust: laisser un héritage.^[1][4]
6. To leave a trace or mark: laisser une cicatrice.^[10][4]
7. To give up, stop dealing with: laisser là son travail.^[7][4]
8. Se laisser: to let oneself be or do: se laisser faire, se laisser aller.^[2][1]

Word family

• laisse
• legs
• délaisser
• laisser-aller
• laissez-passer

Related words

• lâcher
• délai
• relais
• Latin laxō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 221a
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)