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definitions

lease

1
[lees]
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, leas·ing.
  1. 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.
  2. to take or hold by lease: He leased the farm from the sheriff.
verb (used without object), leased, leas·ing.
  1. to grant a lease; let or rent: to lease at a lower rental.
Idioms
  1. 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

1
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 formsleas·a·ble, adjectivelease·less, adjectiveleas·er, nounun·leas·a·ble, adjectiveun·leased, adjectivewell-leased, adjective

Synonyms for lease

5. rent, charter, hire.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for new lease on life

lease

1
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, etca new lease of life
verb (tr)
  1. to grant possession of (land, buildings, etc) by lease
  2. to take a lease of (property); hold under a lease
Derived Formsleasable, adjectiveleaser, noun

Word Origin for lease

C15: via Anglo-French from Old French lais (n), from laissier to let go, from Latin laxāre to loosen

lease

2
noun
  1. dialect open pasture or common

Word Origin for lease

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
Word Origin and History for new lease on life

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
new lease on life in Culture

lease

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 Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.