lease

English edit

Pronunciation edit

(UK, US) IPA^(key): /liːs/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -iːs

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, leave, rent”) whence let.

Noun edit

lease (plural leases)

(formal, law) An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
An interest granting exclusive use of any thing, such as a car or boat.
The contract or deed under which such an interest is granted.
The document containing such a contract or deed.
The period of such an interest.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
  Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
  And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Synonyms edit

tenancy, letting

Hyponyms edit

subtenancy, undertenancy, subletting, underletting, (informal) sublet, underlet

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

→ Dutch: leasen
⇒ English: leasing
- → Spanish: leasing
- → Finnish: leasing
- → Polish: leasing
- → Swedish: leasing

Translations edit

contract granting use or occupation of property

Azerbaijani: kirayə (az)
Bulgarian: аренда f (arenda)
Catalan: contracte d'arrendament m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 租約／租约 (zh) (zūyuē)
Dutch: pacht (nl) f, lease (nl) f
Finnish: vuokrasopimus (fi)
French: contrat de bail m, bail (fr) m
Georgian: იჯარა (iǯara)
German: Pacht (de) f
Greek: σύμβαση μίσθωσης (sýmvasi místhosis), μισθωτήριο (el) (misthotírio), εκμίσθωση (el) f (ekmísthosi)
Latin: locātum (la) n
Maori: rīhi
Persian: اجاره‌نامه (ejâre-nâme)
Polish: leasing (pl) m, arenda (pl) (archaic), dzierżawa (pl) f, najem (pl) m
Romanian: contract de închiriere n
Russian: аре́нда (ru) f (arénda), ли́зинг (ru) m (lízing), сда́ча в аре́нду f (sdáča v aréndu), сда́ча внаём f (sdáča vnajóm)
Scottish Gaelic: gabhail m or f
Spanish: contrato de arrendamiento m

period of such a contract

Chinese:
Mandarin: 租期 (zh) (zūqī)
Finnish: vuokra-aika
French: loyer (fr) m
Maori: rīhitanga
Persian: مدت اجاره (moddat-e ejâre)

Verb edit

lease (third-person singular simple present leases, present participle leasing, simple past and past participle leased)

(transitive, formal, law) To grant a lease as a landlord; to let.
(transitive, informal) To hold a lease as a tenant.
I'm leasing a small apartment in Runcorn for a month while I'm there for work.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

to operate or live in some property or land through purchasing a long-term contract

Bulgarian: арендовам (arendovam)
Dutch: pachten (nl), leasen (nl)
Finnish: vuokrata (fi)
German: pachten (de)
Irish: léasaigh
Maori: rīhi
Persian: اجاره کردن (fa) (ejâre kardan)
Polish: arendować (pl) impf (archaic), dzierżawić (pl) impf, wynajmować (pl) impf, wynająć (pl) pf
Portuguese: arrendar (pt)
Russian: арендова́ть (ru) impf (arendovátʹ), брать в аре́нду impf (bratʹ v aréndu), взять в аре́нду pf (vzjatʹ v aréndu), брать внаём impf (bratʹ vnajóm), взять внаём pf (vzjatʹ vnajóm)
Scottish Gaelic: gabh air mhàl

Related terms edit

lessor, lessee

Etymology 2 edit

From Middle English lesen, from Old English lesan (“to collect, pick, select, gather”), from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic *lesaną (“to gather”).

Verb edit

lease (third-person singular simple present leases, present participle leasing, simple past and past participle leased) (chiefly dialectal)

(transitive) To gather.
(transitive) To pick, select, pick out; to pick up.
(transitive) To glean.
(intransitive) To glean, gather up leavings.

Quotations edit

For quotations using this term, see Citations:lease.

Etymology 3 edit

From Middle English lesen, from Old English lēasian (“to lie, tell lies”), from lēas (“falsehood, lying, untruth, mistake”).

Verb edit

lease (third-person singular simple present leases, present participle leasing, simple past and past participle leased)

(transitive, intransitive, UK dialectal) To tell lies; tell lies about; slander; calumniate.

Derived terms edit

leasing

Etymology 4 edit

From Middle English lese, from Old English lǣs (“meadow”), from Proto-West Germanic *lāsu (“meadow”). See also leasow.

Alternative forms edit

leaze

Noun edit

lease (plural leases)

An open pasture or common.
- 1928, Thomas Hardy, He Never Expected Much:
  Since as a child I used to lie
  Upon the leaze and watch the sky,
  Never, I own, expected I
  That life would all be fair.

Etymology 5 edit

From Middle English lesen, from Old English līesan (“to loosen, release, redeem, deliver, liberate”), from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną (“to release, loosen”).