lease
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.
- the property leased.
- the period of time for which a lease is made: a five-year lease.
- 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.
- to take or hold by lease: He leased the farm from the sheriff.
- to grant a lease; let or rent: to lease at a lower rental.
- 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 lease
1Synonyms for lease
lease
1- a contract by which property is conveyed to a person for a specified period, usually for rent
- the instrument by which such property is conveyed
- the period of time for which it is conveyed
- a prospect of renewed health, happiness, etca new lease of life
- to grant possession of (land, buildings, etc) by lease
- to take a lease of (property); hold under a lease
Word Origin for lease
lease
2- dialect open pasture or common
Word Origin for lease
Word Origin and History for new lease on life
lease
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
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."
lease
A contract that grants possession of property for a specified period of time in return for some kind of compensation.
Idioms and Phrases with new lease on life
new lease on life
A fresh start; renewed vigor and good health, as in Since they bought his store Dad has had a new lease on life. This term with its allusion to a rental agreement dates from the early 1800s and originally referred only to recovery from illness. By the mid-1800s it was applied to any kind of fresh beginning.
lease
see new lease on life.