[leave] vb left ; leav.ing [ME leven, fr. OE laefan; akin to OHG verleiben to leave, OE belifan to be left over, and perh. to Lith lipti to adhere, Gk lipos grease, fat] vt (bef. 12c) 1 a (1): bequeath, devise "left a fortune to his son" (2): to have remaining after one's death "~s a widow and two children" b: to cause to remain as a trace or aftereffect "oil ~s a stain" "the wound left an ugly scar"
2. a: to cause or allow to be or remain in a specified condition "~ the door open" "his manner left me cold" b: to fail to include or take along "left the notes at home" "the movie ~s a lot out" c: to have as a remainder "4 from
7. ~s 3" d: to permit to be or remain subject to another's action or control "just ~ everything to me" e: let f: to cause or allow to be or remain available "~ room for expansion" "wanted to ~ himself an out" 3 a: to go away from: depart "~ the room" b: desert, abandon "left his wife" c: to terminate association with: withdraw from "left school before graduation"
4: to put, deposit, or deliver before or in the process of departing "someone left a package for you" ~ vi: set out, depart -- leav.er n -- leave alone : to refrain from bothering or using usage Leave (sense 2e) with the infinitive but without to "leave it be" is a mostly spoken idiom used in writing esp. for humorous effect. It is not often criticized in British English, but American commentators, adhering to an opinion first expressed in 1881, still dislike it.
[2]leave n [ME leve, fr. OE leaf; akin to MHG loube permission, OE alyfan to allow--more at believe] (bef. 12c) 1 a: permission to do something b: authorized esp. extended absence from duty or employment
2: an act of leaving: departure [3]leave vi leaved ; leav.ing [ME leven, fr. leef leaf] (14c): leaf