ticket of leave

American  

Or ticket-of-leave

noun

British.

tickets of leave plural

1. (formerly) a permit allowing a convict to leave prison, under certain restrictions, and go to work before having served a full term, somewhat similar to a certificate of parole.

---

ticket of leave British  

noun

1. (formerly in Britain) a permit allowing a convict ( ticket-of-leave man ) to leave prison, after serving only part of his sentence, with certain restrictions placed on him

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tickets of leave
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ticket of leave

First recorded in 1725–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ticket of leave

Those to whose names the letter T is also prefixed having previously obtained a ticket of leave releasing them from a state of servitude.

From Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2 by Mitchell, Thomas

"Take him away," she said to the truncheon, "and give him his ticket of leave."

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 2 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert

At six o'clock Mr. Schwab led Winthrop into the big library and asked for his ticket of leave.

From The Scarlet Car by Davis, Richard Harding

He was assigned to me when he first got his ticket of leave.

From A Final Reckoning A Tale of Bush Life in Australia by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

They also heard from their fellows that several had attained to a ticket of leave, and were earning for themselves an honest livelihood in the place of their banishment.

From Prisoners Their Own Warders A Record of the Convict Prison at Singapore in the Straits Settlements Established 1825 by McNair, John Frederick Adolphus