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leet1

[leet]
noun British Obsolete.
  1. a special annual or semiannual court in which the lords of certain manors had jurisdiction over local disputes.
  2. the area over which this jurisdiction extended, including the manor itself and, sometimes, nearby counties or shires.
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Origin of leet1

1400–50; late Middle English lete meeting (of law court) < Anglo-French lete and Anglo-Latin leta (both perhaps < Old English gelǣte meeting of roads; compare wætergelǣt watercourse)

leet2

[leet]
noun
  1. Digital Technology. leetspeak.
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leetspeak

[leet-speek]
noun Digital Technology.
  1. a coded spelling system and language used in very informal communications on the Internet, featuring letters combined with numbers or special characters in place of letters that they may resemble, and including inventive misspellings, jargon, and slang.
  2. the spelling conventions and jargon of this system and language.
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Origin of leetspeak

1980–85; leet (shortening and alteration of elite) + -speak
Also called leet, l33t, 1337.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for leet

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But when I leet of a man, I's rather have him nor a hundred sec gentlemen as you!

    A Son of Hagar

    Sir Hall Caine

  • On the train I fell in with Mr. Leet, who was on his way to his place of business.

    The House

    Eugene Field

  • Then I confided to Mr. Leet the object of my mission down-town.

    The House

    Eugene Field

  • "Then he is just the one to fix that City Hall matter for you," said Mr. Leet.

    The House

    Eugene Field

  • It was a question which has never been entirely solved in Church Leet to this day.

British Dictionary definitions for leet

leet1

noun English history
  1. Also called: court-leet a special kind of manorial court that some lords were entitled to hold
  2. the jurisdiction of this court
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Word Origin

C15: from Anglo-French, of unknown origin

leet2

noun
  1. Scot a list of candidates for an office
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Word Origin

C15: perhaps from Anglo-French litte, variant of list 1

leet3

noun
  1. short for leetspeak
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adjective
  1. impassioned about and highly skilled in the field of advanced computer programming
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Word Origin

C20: see leetspeak

leetspeak

noun
  1. a jargon used by some internet groups, in which standard English is translated into a mixture of letters, numerals, and symbols found on a computer keyboardAlso called: 1337
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Word Origin

C20: from elite + -speak
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

Word Origin and History for leet

2

by 1997, ASCII alternative alphabet used mostly in Internet chat, derived from elite, and sometimes the word is used in that sense (e.g. in online gaming).

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1

in reference to special court proceedings, late 13c., from Anglo-French lete, Anglo-Latin leta, of unknown origin; OED suggests possible connection to let (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper