Added 7 October 2026
leave
/ˈliːv/ verb
In Latin: desero Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about leave at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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To have a consequence or remnant. To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely.
I left my car at home and took a bus to work.
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To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely.
I left my car at home and took a bus to work.
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To cause, to result in.
The lightning left her dazzled for several minutes.
noun
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The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.
He made 45 leaves in his innings of 64.
- The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter — who may be either the same player, or an opponent — has good options, or only poor ones).
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The tiles remaining on a player's rack after his or her turn.
I didn't score much, but LING was a good leave.
noun
verb
Origin
From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of *lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēva (“to leave”), dialectal Dutch loven (“to have left over, save, keep”), Old Saxon lēvian, Old High German leiban (“to leave”), Old Norse leifa (“to leave over”) (whence Icelandic leifa (“to leave food uneaten”), Swedish leva (“to leave”)), lifna (“to be left”) (whence Danish levne). More at lave, belive. The noun is attested since the 19th century, with earliest references to billiards.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)