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Webster 1913 Edition


Lease

Lease

(lēz)
,
Verb.
I.
[AS.
lesan
to gather; akin to D.
lezen
to gather, read, G.
lesen
, Goth.
lisan
to gather; cf. Lith
lesti
to peck.]
To gather what harvesters have left behind; to glean.
[Obs.]
Dryden.

Lease

(lēs)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Leased
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Leasing
.]
[F.
laisser
, OF.
laissier
,
lessier
, to leave, transmit, L.
laxare
to loose, slacken, from
laxus
loose, wide. See
Lax
, and cf.
Lesser
.]
1.
To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise;
as, a landowner
leases
a farm to a tenant
; – sometimes with
out
.
There were some [houses] that were
leased
out for three lives.
Addison.
2.
To hold under a lease; to take lease of;
as, a tenant
leases
his land from the owner
.

Lease

(lēs)
,
Noun.
[Cf. OF.
lais
. See
Lease
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
The temporary transfer of a possession to another person in return for a fee or other valuable consideration paid for the transfer;
especially,
A demise or letting of lands, tenements, or hereditaments to another for life, for a term of years, or at will, or for any less interest than that which the lessor has in the property, usually for a specified rent or compensation.
2.
The contract for such letting.
3.
Any tenure by grant or permission; the time for which such a tenure holds good; allotted time.
Our high-placed Macbeth
Shall live the
lease
of nature.
Shakespeare
Lease and release
a mode of conveyance of freehold estates, formerly common in England and in New York. its place is now supplied by a simple deed of grant.
Burrill.
Warren’s Blackstone.

Webster 1828 Edition


Lease

LEASE

,
Noun.
[See the Verb.]
1.
A demise or letting of lands, tenements or hereditaments to another for life, for a term of years, or at will, for a rent or compensation reserved; also, the contract for such letting.
2.
Any tenure by grant or permission.
Our high placed Macbeth shall live the lease of nature.

LEASE

,
Verb.
T.
[Eng. let. See Let.]
To let; to demise; to grant the temporary possession of lands, tenements or hereditaments to another for a rent reserved. A leased to B his land in Dale for the annual rent of a pepper corn.

LEASE

,
Verb.
I.
leez. [L. lego.]
To glean; to gather what harvest men have left. Obs.

Definition 2024


lease

lease

See also: léase

English

Verb

lease (third-person singular simple present leases, present participle leasing, simple past and past participle leased)

  1. (transitive, chiefly dialectal) to gather.
  2. (transitive, chiefly dialectal) to pick, select, pick out; to pick up.
  3. (transitive, chiefly dialectal) to glean.
  4. (intransitive, chiefly dialectal) to glean, gather up leavings.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)

Etymology 2

From Middle English leas, lees, les, from Old English lēas (false, void, loose), from Proto-Germanic *lausaz (loose, free), from Proto-Indo-European *lū- (to untie, set free, sever). Cognate with German los (loose), Swedish lös (loose). More at loose.

Adjective

lease (comparative leaser or more lease, superlative leasest or most lease)

  1. false; lying; deceptive
Related terms

Noun

lease (plural leases)

  1. falsehood; a lie
    This is all lease. I don't believe it.
    • 1460-1500, The Towneley Playsː
      We held with him there he said lease, and therefore have we all unpeaceǃ
    • 1460-1500, The Towneley Playsː
      Ye shall have joy and bliss [] I say without lease.
    • 1460-1500, The Towneley Playsː
      He is so fair, without lease, he seems full well to sit on this.

Etymology 3

From Middle English *leasien, from Old English lēasian (to lie, tell lies), from lēas (falsehood, lying, untruth, mistake).

Verb

lease (third-person singular simple present leases, present participle leasing, simple past and past participle leased)

  1. (transitive, intransitive, Britain dialectal) To tell lies; tell lies about; slander; calumniate.

Etymology 4

From Middle English lese, from Old English lǣs (meadow), from Proto-Germanic *lēswō (meadow), from Proto-Indo-European *lēy-, *lēid- (to leave, let). Cognate with Old Saxon lēsa (meadow). See also leasow.

Alternative forms

Noun

lease (plural leases)

  1. an open pasture or common
    • 1928, Thomas Hardy, He Never Expected Much:
      Since as a child I used to lie
      Upon the leaze and watch the sky,
      Never, I own, expected I
      That life would all be fair.

Etymology 5

From Middle English lesen, from Old English līesan (to loosen, release, redeem, deliver, liberate), from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną (to release, loosen), from Proto-Indo-European *leu- (to cut, solve, separate). Cognate with Dutch lozen (to drain, discharge), German lösen (to release), Swedish lösa (to solve), Icelandic leysa (to solve).

Alternative forms

Verb

lease (third-person singular simple present leases, present participle leasing, simple past and past participle leased)

  1. (transitive, Britain dialectal) To release; let go; unloose.

Etymology 6

From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (to let, let go), from Medieval Latin lassō (to let, let go), partly from Latin laxō (to loose); partly from Old High German lāzzan, lāzan (to let, let go, release) (German lassen). Cognate with Old English lǣtan (to allow, let go, leave, rent). More at let.

Verb

lease (third-person singular simple present leases, present participle leasing, simple past and past participle leased)

  1. (transitive) To operate or live in some property or land through purchasing a long-term contract (or leasehold) from the owner (or freeholder).
  2. (transitive) To take or hold by lease.
  3. (intransitive) To grant a lease; to let or rent.
Translations

Noun

lease (plural leases)

  1. A contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified period in exchange for a specified rent
  2. The period of such a contract
  3. A leasehold
Translations

Related terms

Etymology 7

From leash.

Noun

lease

  1. The place at which the warp-threads cross on a loom.

Anagrams


Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

lease

  1. first-person singular present indicative of leasen
  2. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of leasen
  3. imperative of leasen