n. [ OE. leve, leave, AS. leáf; akin to leóf pleasing, dear, E. lief, D. oorlof leave, G. arlaub, and erlauben to permit, Icel. leyfi. √124. See Lief. ] 1. Liberty granted by which restraint or illegality is removed; permission; allowance; license. [ 1913 Webster ]

David earnestly asked leave of me. 1 Sam. xx. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

No friend has leave to bear away the dead. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of leaving or departing; a formal parting; a leaving; farewell; adieu; -- used chiefly in the phrase, to take leave, i. e., literally, to take permission to go. [ 1913 Webster ]

A double blessing is a'double grace;
Occasion smiles upon a second leave. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren. Acts xviii. 18. [ 1913 Webster ]

French leave. See under French.

Syn. -- See Liberty. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Left p. pr. & vb. n. Leaving. ] [ OE. leven, AS. l&unr_;fan, fr. lāf remnant, heritage; akin to lifian, libban, to live, orig., to remain; cf. belīfan to remain, G. bleiben, Goth. bileiban. √119. See Live, v. ] 1. To withdraw one's self from; to go away from; to depart from; as, to leave the house. [ 1913 Webster ]

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. Gen. ii. 24. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To let remain unremoved or undone; to let stay or continue, in distinction from what is removed or changed. [ 1913 Webster ]

If grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes ? Jer. xlix. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Matt. xxiii. 23. [ 1913 Webster ]

Besides it leaveth a suspicion, as if more might be said than is expressed. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cease from; to desist from; to abstain from. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now leave complaining and begin your tea. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To desert; to abandon; to forsake; hence, to give up; to relinquish. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. Mark x. 28. [ 1913 Webster ]

The heresies that men do leave. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To let be or do without interference; as, I left him to his reflections; I leave my hearers to judge. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will leave you now to your gossiplike humor. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver; to commit; to submit -- with a sense of withdrawing one's self from; as, leave your hat in the hall; we left our cards; to leave the matter to arbitrators. [ 1913 Webster ]

Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way. Matt. v. 24. [ 1913 Webster ]

The foot
That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To have remaining at death; hence, to bequeath; as, he left a large estate; he left a good name; he left a legacy to his niece. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. to cause to be; -- followed by an adjective or adverb describing a state or condition; as, the losses due to fire leave me penniless; The cost of defending himself left Bill Clinton with a mountain of lawyers' bills. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

To leave alone. (a) To leave in solitude. (b) To desist or refrain from having to do with; as, to leave dangerous chemicals alone. --
To leave off. (a) To desist from; to forbear; to stop; as, to leave off work at six o'clock. (b) To cease wearing or using; to omit to put in the usual position; as, to leave off a garment; to leave off the tablecloth. (c) To forsake; as, to leave off a bad habit. --
To leave out, to omit; as, to leave out a word or name in writing. --
To leave to one's self, to let (one) be alone; to cease caring for (one).

Syn>- To quit; depart from; forsake; abandon; relinquish; deliver; bequeath; give up; forego; resign; surrender; forbear. See Quit. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Levy. ] To raise; to levy. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

An army strong she leaved. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To depart; to set out. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

By the time I left for Scotland. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cease; to desist; to leave off. “He . . . began at the eldest, and left at the youngest.” Gen. xliv. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

To leave off, to cease; to desist; to stop. [ 1913 Webster ]

Leave off, and for another summons wait. Roscommon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Leaved p. pr. & vb. n. Leaving ] To send out leaves; to leaf; -- often with out. G. Fletcher. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Leaf. ] Bearing, or having, a leaf or leaves; having folds; -- used in combination; as, a four-leaved clover; a two-leaved gate; long-leaved. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Leafless. [ Obs. ] Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. levain, levein, F. levain, L. levamen alleviation, mitigation; but taken in the sense of, a raising, that which raises, fr. levare to raise. See Lever, n. ] 1. Any substance that produces, or is designed to produce, fermentation, as in dough or liquids; esp., a portion of fermenting dough, which, mixed with a larger quantity of dough, produces a general change in the mass, and renders it light; yeast; barm. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything which makes a general assimilating (especially a corrupting) change in the mass. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke xii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Leavened p. pr. & vb. n. Leavening ] 1. To make light by the action of leaven; to cause to ferment. [ 1913 Webster ]

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 1 Cor. v. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To imbue; to infect; to vitiate. [ 1913 Webster ]

With these and the like deceivable doctrines, he leavens also his prayer. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. made light by aerating, as with yeast or baking powder. Opposite of unleavened. [ Narrower terms: sourdough(prenominal) ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]