Word Study
leap
CIDE DICTIONARY
leap, n. [AS. leáp.].
- A basket. Wyclif. [1913 Webster]
- A weel or wicker trap for fish. [1913 Webster]
leap, v. i. [OE. lepen, leapen, AS. hleápan to leap, jump, run; akin to OS. āhl, OFries. hlapa, D. loopen, G. laufen, OHG. louffan, hlauffan, Icel. hlaupa, Sw. löpa, Dan. löbe, Goth. ushlaupan. Cf. Elope, Lope, Lapwing, Loaf to loiter.].
- To spring clear of the ground, with the feet; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse. Bacon. [1913 Webster]" Leap in with me into this angry flood." [1913 Webster]
- To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig. [1913 Webster]"My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky." [1913 Webster]
leap, v. t.
- To pass over by a leap or jump; as, to leap a wall, or a ditch. [1913 Webster]
- To copulate with (a female beast); to cover. [1913 Webster]
- To cause to leap; as, to leap a horse across a ditch. [1913 Webster]
leap, n.
- The act of leaping, or the space passed by leaping; a jump; a spring; a bound. [1913 Webster]"Wickedness comes on by degrees, . . . and sudden leaps from one extreme to another are unnatural." [1913 Webster]"Changes of tone may proceed either by leaps or glides." [1913 Webster]
- Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast. [1913 Webster]
- A fault. [1913 Webster]
- A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other and intermediate intervals. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
leap, v. & n.
--v. (past and past part. leaped or leapt)
1 intr. jump or spring forcefully.
2 tr. jump across.
3 intr. (of prices etc.) increase dramatically.
--n. a forceful jump.
--v. (past and past part. leaped or leapt)
1 intr. jump or spring forcefully.
2 tr. jump across.
3 intr. (of prices etc.) increase dramatically.
--n. a forceful jump.
Idiom
by leaps and bounds with startlingly rapid progress. leap in the dark a daring step or enterprise whose consequences are unpredictable. leap to the eye be immediately apparent. leap year a year, occurring once in four, with 366 days (including 29th Feb. as an intercalary day).
Derivative
leaper n.
Etymology
OE hlyp, hleapan f. Gmc: leap year prob. refers to the fact that feast-days after Feb. in such a year fall two days later (instead of the normal one day later) than in the previous year
THESAURUS
leap
accept, access, accession, accretion, accrual, accruement, accumulation, addition, advance, aggrandizement, amount, amplification, anabasis, appreciation, ascension, ascent, augmentation, avant-propos, ballooning, bloating, boom, boost, bounce, bound, breakthrough, broadening, buck, buckjump, buildup, bundle, bustle, caesura, caliber, canter, caper, capriole, cavort, chase, clamber, clear, clearance, climb, climbing, coinage, compass, crescendo, crowd, curvet, cut, dance, dash, dash off, dash on, degree, development, discontinuity, discovery, distance between, double space, double-time, edema, elevation, em space, en space, enlargement, escalade, escalation, exordium, expansion, extension, extent, festinate, flood, foreword, fountain, fox-trot, freeboard, frisk, frolic, front matter, frontispiece, gain, gallop, gambol, get, get going, get moving, git, grade, greatening, growth, gush, gyring up, hair space, half space, hasten, height, hiatus, hightail, hike, hippety-hop, hop, hop along, hotfoot, hurdle, hurry, hurry on, hurry through, hurry up, hurry-scurry, hustle, increase, increment, inflation, innovation, interim, intermediate space, interruption, interspace, interstice, interval, introduction, invention, jet, jump, jump at, jump over, lacuna, leap over, leapfrog, leeway, level, levitation, lope, lose no time, make haste, make tracks, margin, mark, measure, mount, mounting, move quickly, multiplication, negotiate, neologism, new phase, notch, novelty, nuance, overjump, overleap, overskip, overture, pas, peg, period, pitch, plane, plateau, plunge, point, post, postulate, pounce, pounce on, pounce upon, prance, preamble, preface, prefix, prefixture, preliminary, prelude, premise, press on, presupposition, productiveness, proem, prolegomena, prolegomenon, prolepsis, proliferation, prologue, proportion, protasis, push on, quickly, race, raise, range, rapidly, ratio, reach, remove, rise, rising, rocketing up, romp, room, round, run, rung, rush, rush through, saltation, scale, scamper, scope, scramble, scurry, scuttle, shade, shadow, shooting up, single space, ski jump, skip, skip over, snowballing, soaring, space, space between, speedily, spout, spread, spring, sprint, spurt, stair, standard, start, start aside, start up, steeplechase, step, step along, step lively, stint, surge, swelling, swiftly, take, takeoff, taking off, tear, time interval, tread, trip, trot, tumescence, up, upclimb, upcoming, updive, updraft, upgang, upgo, upgoing, upgrade, upgrowth, uphill, upleap, uplift, upping, uprisal, uprise, uprising, uprush, upshoot, upslope, upspring, upsurge, upsurgence, upsweep, upswing, uptrend, upturn, vault, verse, voluntary, waxing, widening, zoomingROGET THESAURUS
leap
Revolution
N revolution, bouleversement, subversion, break up, destruction, sudden change, radical change, sweeping organic change, change of state, phase change, quantum leap, quantum jump, clean sweep, coup d'etat, counter revolution, jump, leap, plunge, jerk, start, transilience, explosion, spasm, convulsion, throe, revulsion, storm, earthquake, cataclysm, legerdemain, unrecognizable, revolutionary.Ascent
VB ascend, rise, mount, arise, uprise, go up, get up, work one's way up, start up, shoot up, go into orbit, float up, bubble up, aspire, climb, clamber, ramp, scramble, escalade, surmount, shin, shinny, shinney, scale, scale the heights, raise, elevate, go aloft, fly aloft, tower, soar, take off, spring up, pop up, jump up, catapult upwards, explode upwards, hover, spire, plane, swim, float, surge, leap.Leap
N leap, jump, hop, spring, bound, vault, saltation, ance, caper, curvet, caracole, gambade, gambado, capriole, demivolt, buck, buck jump, hop skip and jump, falcade, kangaroo, jerboa, chamois, goat, frog, grasshopper, flea, buckjumper, wallaby, leaping, saltatory, frisky, on the light fantastic toe, di salto in salto.VB leap, jump up, jump over the moon, hop, spring, bound, vault, ramp, cut capers, trip, skip, dance, caper, buck, buck jump, curvet, caracole, foot it, bob, bounce, flounce, start, frisk, jump about, trip it on the light fantastic toe, trip the light fantastic, dance oneself off one's legs, dance off one's shoes.
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