laisser French · revision 16273

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 881, Séquence de sainte Eulalie|origins=la laxus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /lɛ.se/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /le.se/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''laisser'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|laissier]], [[m|fro|lessier]] and [[m|fro|lesser]], ''lazsier'' in the ''Eulalie''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|laissier]], [[inh|la|laxō|t=to loosen, slacken; to release; to leave]], from [[m|la|laxus|t=loose, slack]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(FEW|5, 221a) 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.^(DHLF 1992) It is related to [[lâcher]].^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Old French also had a verb [[m|fro|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 [[got|𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽|tr=lagjan|t=to lay]] and Diez, cited by Littré, from [[la|lēgō|t=to bequeath]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873) Wiktionary also allows some influence of [[goh|lāzan|t=to let]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|lăsa]], [[it|lasciare]], [[oc|laissar]], [[ca|deixar]], [[es|dejar]] and [[pt|deixar]]; the /d/ of the Spanish and some southern forms is unexplained.^(REW 1935)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==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”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The main senses of the Latin verb had passed into French by the end of the 12th century.^(DHLF 1992) With an infinitive it expresses permission (''laisser entrer'', about 881, ''laisser courre'', about 1050), also reflexively (''se laisser mourir'', about 1160).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Se laisser aller'' (1617) came to mean “to give way to one's inclinations” and “to neglect oneself” (1656).^(DHLF 1992) The verb also meant “to keep in a state” (late 10th century), “to release” (1176–1181) and “to permit” (1160–1174).^(TLFi)

+

+ 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).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) 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.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) The noun ''lais'' “legacy” (1250) was respelled [[legs]] in the 15th century after Latin ''lēgātum'', which cut it off from ''laisser''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 881 – ''Lazsier'' in the ''Séquence de sainte Eulalie''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * c. 1050 – ''Laisser courre'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – “To bequeath” in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1160 – ''Se laisser mourir''.^(TLFi)

+ * 15th century – ''Lais'' “legacy” respelled ''legs''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1617 – ''Se laisser aller''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1675 – ''Laissez-passer''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1687 – Thomas Corneille condemns ''ne pas laisser que de''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1786 – ''Laisser-aller''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # With an infinitive: to [[m|en|let]], allow: ''laisser partir quelqu'un'', ''laisser tomber''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Le Robert)

+ # To leave in a certain state: ''laisser la porte ouverte'', ''laisser quelqu'un tranquille''.^(TLFi)^(Larousse)

+ # To leave, go away from a person or place.^(Littré 1873)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To leave behind, by choice or by [[m|en|oversight]]: ''laisser ses clés à la maison''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To leave to someone, to [[m|en|bequeath]] or entrust: ''laisser un héritage''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # To leave a trace or mark: ''laisser une cicatrice''.^(BHVF)^(TLFi)

+ # To give up, stop dealing with: ''laisser là son travail''.^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Se laisser'': to let oneself be or do: ''se laisser faire'', ''se laisser aller''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[laisse]]

+ * [[legs]]

+ * [[délaisser]]

+ * [[laisser-aller]]

+ * [[laissez-passer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lâcher]]

+ * [[délai]]

+ * [[relais]]

+ * [[la|laxō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}