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lease1

[lees] /lis/
noun
1.
a contract renting land, buildings, etc., to another; a contract or instrument conveying property to another for a specified period or for a period determinable at the will of either lessor or lessee in consideration of rent or other compensation.
2.
the property leased.
3.
the period of time for which a lease is made:
a five-year lease.
verb (used with object), leased, leasing.
4.
to grant the temporary possession or use of (lands, tenements, etc.) to another, usually for compensation at a fixed rate; let:
She plans to lease her apartment to a friend.
5.
to take or hold by lease:
He leased the farm from the sheriff.
verb (used without object), leased, leasing.
6.
to grant a lease; let or rent:
to lease at a lower rental.
Idioms
7.
a new lease on life, a chance to improve one's situation or to live longer or more happily:
Plastic surgery gave him a new lease on life.
Origin of lease1
Middle English
Anglo-French
1350-1400
1350-1400; Middle English les < Anglo-French (equivalent to Old French lais, French legs legacy), noun derivative of lesser to lease, literally, let go (equivalent to Old French laissier) < Latin laxāre to release, let go. See lax
Related forms
leasable, adjective
leaseless, adjective
leaser, noun
unleasable, adjective
unleased, adjective
well-leased, adjective
Synonyms
5. rent, charter, hire.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018.
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British Dictionary definitions for unleasable

lease1

/liːs/
noun
1.
a contract by which property is conveyed to a person for a specified period, usually for rent
2.
the instrument by which such property is conveyed
3.
the period of time for which it is conveyed
4.
a prospect of renewed health, happiness, etc: a new lease of life
verb (transitive)
5.
to grant possession of (land, buildings, etc) by lease
6.
to take a lease of (property); hold under a lease
Derived Forms
leasable, adjective
leaser, noun
Word Origin
C15: via Anglo-French from Old French lais (n), from laissier to let go, from Latin laxāre to loosen

lease2

/liːz/
noun
1.
(dialect) open pasture or common
Word Origin
Old English lǣs; perhaps related to Old Norse lāth property
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for unleasable

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.

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). Modern French equivalent legs is altered by erroneous derivation from Latin legatum "bequest, legacy."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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unleasable in Culture

lease definition


A contract that grants possession of property for a specified period of time in return for some kind of compensation.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms and Phrases with unleasable

lease

see: new lease on life
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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