lease

pronunciation

How to pronounce lease in British English: UK [liːs] word uk audio image

How to pronounce lease in American English: US [liːs] word us audio image

Noun:

property that is leased or rented out or let
a contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified time for a specified payment
the period of time during which a contract conveying property to a person is in effect
Verb:

let for money
hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services
grant use or occupation of under a term of contract
engage for service under a term of contract

Word Origin

lease: lease: [15] The etymological idea underlying lease is of ‘letting go’ – a notion more readily apparent in its close relative release. Its ultimate ancestor is the Latin adjective laxus ‘loose’, source of English lax [14]. From this was derived the verb laxāre ‘loosen, let go’, which passed into Old French as laissier (its modern descendant is laisser ‘leave, let’). Anglo- Norman took it over as lesser, and used it for ‘letting something go’ to someone else for a certain period under the terms of a legal contract. Hence English lease. The derivatives lessee [15] and lessor [15] also come from Anglo-Norman.=> lax, release

lease (n.): late 14c., "legal contract conveying property, usually for a fixed period of time and with a fixed compensation," from Anglo-French les (late 13c.), from lesser "to let, let go," from Old French laissier "to let, allow, permit; bequeath, leave," from Latin laxare "loosen, open, make wide," from laxus "loose" (see lax). Medial -x- in Latin tends to become -ss- or -s- in French (compare cuisse from coxa). Modern French equivalent legs is altered by erroneous derivation from Latin legatum "bequest, legacy."

lease (v.): late 15c., "to take a lease," from Anglo-French lesser, Old French laissier "to let, leave" (see lease (n.). Related: Leased; leasing. Lessor, lessee in contract language preserves the Anglo-French form.

vt.