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Word Study
let
CIDE DICTIONARY
let, v. t. [OE. letten, AS. lettan to delay, to hinder, fr. læt slow; akin to D. letten to hinder, G. verletzen to hurt, Icel. letja to hold back, Goth. latjan. See Late.].
To retard; to hinder; to impede; to oppose. [1913 Webster]
"He was so strong that no man might him let." [1913 Webster]
"He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." [1913 Webster]
"Mine ancient wound is hardly whole,
And lets me from the saddle." [1913 Webster]
And lets me from the saddle." [1913 Webster]
let, n.
- A retarding; hindrance; obstacle; impediment; delay; -- common in the phrase without let or hindrance, but elsewhere archaic. Keats. [1913 Webster]"Consider whether your doings be to the let of your salvation or not." [1913 Webster]
- A stroke in which a ball touches the top of the net in passing over. [1913 Webster]
let, v. t. [OE. leten, læten (past tense lat, let, p. p. laten, leten, lete), AS. l (past tense l, p. p. l); akin to OFries. l, OS. lātan, D. laten, G. lassen, OHG. lāzzan, Icel. lāta, Sw. låta, Dan. lade, Goth. l, and L. lassus weary. The original meaning seems to have been, to let loose, let go, let drop. Cf. Alas, Late, Lassitude, Let to hinder.].
- To leave; to relinquish; to abandon. [1913 Webster]"He . . . prayed him his voyage for to let." [1913 Webster]"Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets,
But to her mother Nature all her care she lets." [1913 Webster]"Let me alone in choosing of my wife." [1913 Webster] - To consider; to think; to esteem. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
- To cause; to make; -- used with the infinitive in the active form but in the passive sense; as, let make,
i. e. , cause to be made; let bring,i. e. , cause to be brought. [1913 Webster]"This irous, cursed wretch
Let this knight's son anon before him fetch." [1913 Webster]"He . . . thus let do slay hem all three." [1913 Webster]"Anon he let two coffers make." [1913 Webster] - To permit; to allow; to suffer; -- either affirmatively, by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain or prevent. [1913 Webster]" In this sense, when followed by an infinitive, the latter is commonly without the sign to;
as to . Sometimes there is entire omission of the verb;let us walk,i. e. , to permit or suffer us to walkas, to ." [1913 Webster]let [to be or to go] loose"Pharaoh said, I will let you go." [1913 Webster]"If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is." [1913 Webster] - To allow to be used or occupied for a compensation; to lease; to rent; to hire out; -- often with
out ; as, to let a farm; to let a house; to let out horses. [1913 Webster] - To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or contract; -- often with
out ; as, to let the building of a bridge; to let out the lathing and the plastering. [1913 Webster]" The active form of the infinitive of let, as of many other English verbs, is often used in a passive sense; as, a house to let (i. e. , for letting, or to be let). This form of expression conforms to the use of the Anglo-Saxon gerund with to (dative infinitive) which was commonly so employed. SeeGerund , 2. “ Your elegant house in Harley Street is to let.”Thackeray. In the imperative mood, before the first person plural, let has a hortative force. “ Rise up, let us go.”Mark xiv. 42. “ Let us seek out some desolate shade.”Shak. " [1913 Webster]
let, v. i.
- To forbear. Bacon. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
let, v. & n.
--v. (letting; past and past part. let)
1 tr. a allow to, not prevent or forbid (we let them go). b cause to (let me know; let it be known).
2 tr. (foll. by into) a allow to enter. b make acquainted with (a secret etc.). c inlay in.
3 tr. Brit. grant the use of (rooms, land, etc.) for rent or hire (was let to the new tenant for a year).
4 tr. allow or cause (liquid or air) to escape (let blood).
5 tr. award (a contract for work).
6 aux. supplying the first and third persons of the imperative in exhortations (let us pray), commands (let it be done at once; let there be light), assumptions (let AB be equal to CD), and permission or challenge (let him do his worst).
--n. Brit. the act or an instance of letting a house, room, etc. (a long let).
--v. (letting; past and past part. let)
1 tr. a allow to, not prevent or forbid (we let them go). b cause to (let me know; let it be known).
2 tr. (foll. by into) a allow to enter. b make acquainted with (a secret etc.). c inlay in.
3 tr. Brit. grant the use of (rooms, land, etc.) for rent or hire (was let to the new tenant for a year).
4 tr. allow or cause (liquid or air) to escape (let blood).
5 tr. award (a contract for work).
6 aux. supplying the first and third persons of the imperative in exhortations (let us pray), commands (let it be done at once; let there be light), assumptions (let AB be equal to CD), and permission or challenge (let him do his worst).
--n. Brit. the act or an instance of letting a house, room, etc. (a long let).
Idiom
let alone
1 not to mention, far less or more (hasn't got a television, let alone a video).
2 = let be. let be not interfere with, attend to, or do.
let down
1 lower.
2 fail to support or satisfy, disappoint.
3 lengthen (a garment).
4 deflate (a tyre). let-down n. a disappointment. let down gently avoid humiliating abruptly.
let drop (or fall)
1 drop (esp. a word or hint) intentionally or by accident.
2 (foll. by on, upon, to) Geom. draw (a perpendicular) from an outside point to a line.
let fly
1 (often foll. by at) attack physically or verbally.
2 discharge (a missile).
let go
1 release, set at liberty.
2 a (often foll. by of) lose or relinquish one's hold. b lose hold of.
3 cease to think or talk about.
let oneself go
1 give way to enthusiasm, impulse, etc.
2 cease to take trouble, neglect one's appearance or habits.
let in
1 allow to enter (let the dog in; let in a flood of light; this would let in all sorts of evils).
2 (usu. foll. by for) involve (a person, often oneself) in loss or difficulty.
3 (foll. by on) allow (a person) to share privileges, information, etc.
4 inlay (a thing) in another. let oneself in enter a building by means of a latchkey. let loose release or unchain (a dog, fury, a maniac, etc.). let me see see SEE(1).
let off
1 a fire (a gun). b explode (a bomb or firework).
2 allow or cause (steam, liquid, etc.) to escape.
3 allow to alight from a vehicle etc.
4 a not punish or compel. b (foll. by with) punish lightly.
5 Brit. let (part of a house etc.). let-off n. being allowed to escape something. let off steam see STEAM.
let on colloq.
1 reveal a secret.
2 pretend (let on that he had succeeded). let out 1 allow to go out, esp. through a doorway.
2 release from restraint.
3 (often foll. by that + clause) reveal (a secret etc.).
4 make (a garment) looser esp. by adjustment at a seam.
5 put out to rent esp. to several tenants, or to contract.
6 exculpate. let-out n. colloq. an opportunity to escape. let rip see RIP(1). let slip see SLIP(1). let through allow to pass.
let up colloq.
1 become less intense or severe.
2 relax one's efforts. let-up n.
colloq.
1 a reduction in intensity.
2 a relaxation of effort. to let available for rent.
1 not to mention, far less or more (hasn't got a television, let alone a video).
2 = let be. let be not interfere with, attend to, or do.
let down
1 lower.
2 fail to support or satisfy, disappoint.
3 lengthen (a garment).
4 deflate (a tyre). let-down n. a disappointment. let down gently avoid humiliating abruptly.
let drop (or fall)
1 drop (esp. a word or hint) intentionally or by accident.
2 (foll. by on, upon, to) Geom. draw (a perpendicular) from an outside point to a line.
let fly
1 (often foll. by at) attack physically or verbally.
2 discharge (a missile).
let go
1 release, set at liberty.
2 a (often foll. by of) lose or relinquish one's hold. b lose hold of.
3 cease to think or talk about.
let oneself go
1 give way to enthusiasm, impulse, etc.
2 cease to take trouble, neglect one's appearance or habits.
let in
1 allow to enter (let the dog in; let in a flood of light; this would let in all sorts of evils).
2 (usu. foll. by for) involve (a person, often oneself) in loss or difficulty.
3 (foll. by on) allow (a person) to share privileges, information, etc.
4 inlay (a thing) in another. let oneself in enter a building by means of a latchkey. let loose release or unchain (a dog, fury, a maniac, etc.). let me see see SEE(1).
let off
1 a fire (a gun). b explode (a bomb or firework).
2 allow or cause (steam, liquid, etc.) to escape.
3 allow to alight from a vehicle etc.
4 a not punish or compel. b (foll. by with) punish lightly.
5 Brit. let (part of a house etc.). let-off n. being allowed to escape something. let off steam see STEAM.
let on colloq.
1 reveal a secret.
2 pretend (let on that he had succeeded). let out 1 allow to go out, esp. through a doorway.
2 release from restraint.
3 (often foll. by that + clause) reveal (a secret etc.).
4 make (a garment) looser esp. by adjustment at a seam.
5 put out to rent esp. to several tenants, or to contract.
6 exculpate. let-out n. colloq. an opportunity to escape. let rip see RIP(1). let slip see SLIP(1). let through allow to pass.
let up colloq.
1 become less intense or severe.
2 relax one's efforts. let-up n.
colloq.
1 a reduction in intensity.
2 a relaxation of effort. to let available for rent.
let, n. & v.
--n.
1 (in lawn tennis, squash, etc.) an obstruction of a ball or a player in certain ways, requiring the ball to be served again.
2 (archaic except in without let or hindrance) obstruction, hindrance.
--v.tr. (letting; past and past part. letted or let) archaic hinder, obstruct.
--n.
1 (in lawn tennis, squash, etc.) an obstruction of a ball or a player in certain ways, requiring the ball to be served again.
2 (archaic except in without let or hindrance) obstruction, hindrance.
--v.tr. (letting; past and past part. letted or let) archaic hinder, obstruct.
Etymology
OE lettan f. Gmc, rel. to LATE
THESAURUS
let
OK, accord, accredit, admit, allow, approve, arrest, arrestation, arrestment, assume, authorize, bareboat charter, be afraid, believe, bleed, blockage, blocking, broach, certify, charter, chartered, check, clogging, closing up, closure, commission, concede, conceive, conclude, consent, consider, constriction, cramp, daresay, decant, deduce, deem, delay, detainment, detention, dispense, divine, draft, draft off, drain, draw, draw from, draw off, dream, employed, empty, endorse, exhaust, expect, fancy, farm, farm out, feel, fixation, foot-dragging, gather, give leave, give permission, give the go-ahead, give the word, grant, hampering, have, hindering, hindrance, hire, hire out, hired, hireling, hiring, holdback, holdup, imagine, impediment, infer, inhibition, interference, interruption, job, lease, lease out, lease-back, lease-lend, leased, leave, lend-lease, let be, let blood, let off, let out, license, make possible, mercenary, milk, negativism, nuisance value, obstruction, obstructionism, occlusion, okay, opine, opposition, paid, permit, phlebotomize, pipette, prefigure, presume, presuppose, presurmise, provisionally accept, pump, pump out, reckon, release, rent, rent out, rental, rented, repression, repute, resistance, restraint, restriction, retardation, retardment, sanction, say, say the word, setback, siphon off, squeeze, stranglehold, stricture, sublease, subleased, sublet, subrent, suck, suck out, suffer, suppose, suppression, surmise, suspect, take, take for, take for granted, take it, take to be, tap, think, underlet, understand, venesect, vouchsafeROGET THESAURUS
let
Hindrance
N hindrance, prevention, preclusion, obstruction, stoppage, embolus, embolism, infarct, interruption, interception, interclusion, hindrance, impedition, retardment, retardation, embarrassment, oppilation, coarctation, stricture, restriction, restraint, inhibition, blockade, interference, interposition, obtrusion, discouragement, discountenance, impediment, let, obstacle, obstruction, knot, knag, check, hitch, contretemps, screw loose, grit in the oil, bar, stile, barrier, turnstile, turnpike, gate, portcullis, beaver dam, trocha, barricade, wall, dead wall, sea wall, levee breakwater, groyne, bulkhead, block, buffer, stopper, boom, dam, weir, burrock, drawback, objection, stumbling-block, stumbling-stone, lion in the path, snag, snags and sawyers, encumbrance, incumbrance, clog, skid, shoe, spoke, drag, drag chain, drag weight, stay, stop, preventive, prophylactic, load, burden, fardel, onus, millstone round one's neck, impedimenta, dead weight, lumber, pack, nightmare, Ephialtes, incubus, old man of the sea, remora, difficulty, insuperable, obstacle, estoppel, ill wind, head wind, trammel, tether, hold back, counterpoise, damper, wet blanket, hinderer, marplot, killjoy, party pooper, party crasher, interloper, trail of a red herring, opponent, hindering, obstructive, obstruent, impeditive, impedient, intercipient, prophylactic, impedimentary, in the way of, unfavorable, onerous, burdensome, cumbrous, cumbersome, obtrusive, hindered, windbound, waterlogged, heavy laden, hard pressed, unassisted &c (assist), single-handed, alone, deserted, occurrent nubes.VB hinder, impede, filibuster, impedite, embarrass, keep off, stave off, ward off, obviate, avert, antevert, turn aside, draw off, prevent, forefend, nip in the bud, retard, slacken, check, let, counteract, countercheck, preclude, debar, foreclose, estop, inhibit, shackle, restrict, obstruct, stop, stay, bar, bolt, lock, block, block up, choke off, belay, barricade, block the way, bar the way, stop the way, forelay, dam up, put on the brake, scotch the wheel, lock the wheel, put a spoke in the wheel, put a stop to, traverse, contravene, interrupt, intercept, oppose, hedge in, hedge round, cut off, inerclude, interpose, interfere, intermeddle, cramp, hamper, clog, clog the wheels, cumber, encumber, incumber, handicap, choke, saddle with, load with, overload, lay, lumber, trammel, tie one's hands, put to inconvenience, incommode, discommode, discompose, hustle, corner, drive into a corner, run foul of, fall foul of, cross the path of, break in upon, thwart, frustrate, disconcert, balk, foil, faze, feaze, feeze, baffle, snub, override, circumvent, defeat, spike guns, spoil, mar, clip the wings of, cripple, put an extinguisher on, damp, dishearten, discountenance, throw cold water on, spoil sport, lay a wet blanket, throw a wet blanket on, cut the ground from under one, take the wind out of one's sails, undermine, be in the way of, stand in the way of, act as a drag, hang like a millstone round one's neck.
Permission
VB permit, give permission, give power, let, allow, admit, suffer, bear with, tolerate, recognize, concede, accord, vouchsafe, favor, humor, gratify, indulge, stretch a point, wink at, connive at, shut one's eyes to, grant, empower, charter, enfranchise, privilege, confer a privilege, license, authorize, warrant, sanction, intrust, give carte blanche, give the reins to, give scope to, leave alone, leave it to one, leave the door open, open the door to, open the flood gates, give a loose to, let off, absolve, release, exonerate, dispense with, ask permission, beg permission, request permission, ask leave, beg leave, request leave.Security
VB give security, give bail, give substantial bail, go bail, pawn, impawn, spout, mortgage, hypothecate, impignorate, guarantee, warrant, warrantee, assure, accept, indorse, underwrite, insure, cosign, countersign, sponsor, cosponsor, execute, stamp, sign, seal, let, sett, grant a lease, take a lease, hold a lease, hold in pledge, lend on security.Lending
VB lend, advance, accommodate with, lend on security, loan, pawn, intrust, invest, place out to interest, put out to interest, let, demise, lease, sett, underlet.Sale
VB sell, vend, dispose of, effect a sale, sell over the counter, sell by auction, dispense, retail, deal in, sell off, sell out, turn into money, realize, bring to the hammer, bring under the hammer, put up to auction, put up for auction, offer for sale, put up for sale, hawk, bring to market, offer, undersell, let, mortgage.Also see definition of "let" in Bible Study Dictionaries
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