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Definition 2024


by_your_leave

by your leave

See also: by-your-leave

English

Alternative forms

Prepositional phrase

by your leave

  1. with your permission.

Noun

by your leave (plural by your leaves)

  1. Request for permission.
    • 1897, Shanghai Mercury, Shanghai by Night and Day: Illustrated by 23 Reproductions from Photographs. Vol. I.
      "The natives have gathered on the top of every grave mound near by and though many resent the riding over their fields without a so much as a 'By your leave'...."
    • 1946, Konstantin Trenev, In a Cossack Village, and Other Stories
      "He picked flowers without so much as a 'by your leave.'"
    • 1986, Judith A. Jance, Trial by Fury
      "'To a place you've broken into without so much as a by-your-leave, to say nothing of a search warrant?'"

Usage notes

  • Very commonly found in the expression Without so much as a 'by your leave'.