let 
Christ had power to let Ms life and to take It again. 
'flindatt, Ans. to Sir T. More, etc. (I'arkor Hoc., 18M)X p. 2:13. 
But to her mother Nature all her care the lett*. 
*l;uirr, K. <).. II. Vl. 16. 
6. To leave or transfer the use o for a con- 
sideration; put to rent or hire; farm; lease: 
often with nut: as, to let a house to a tenant; 
to let out boats or carriages for hire. 
Making great spoyle, and letting them out to farnio to 
sil<-]] as WOUhl glue most fi>r tin in. 
Stow, William Rufus, an. 1088. 
They have told their money, and let out 
Their coin upon large interest. 
Shale., 1. of A., ULS. 107. 
This house is to tie let for life or years; 
Her rent is sorrow, and her income tears. 
. Quarlex, Emblems, II. 10, Epig. 
7f. To cause: with an infinitive, without to, 
in a quasi-passive use (the original subject of 
the infinitive being omitted): as, to let make 
(cause to be made); to let call (cause to be 
called). It is sometimes joined with do, with- 
out change of meaning. 
The whiche tonne the queene Slmyramos 
I " f dichen al about and walles make 
Ful bye. Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 708. 
The juge answerde "Of this In his absence 
1 may not geve dttfynytyve sentence ; 
Lot do hym calle, and I wol gladly heere." 
Chaucer, Doctor's Tale, 1. 173. 
Paste by Is Kyng Heroudes Hows, that leet slee the In- 
nocentes. Mandeville, Travels, p. 89. 
Than the! /./. crie and enqnere yet the man that hadde 
brought the lettere were yet in the town. 
Mrrlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 290. 
8f. To allow or hold to be ; regard ; esteem. 
Lo ! he that leet hymselven so konnynge, 
And scorned hem that loves peynes dryen. 
Was fill umvar that Love hadde his dwellynge 
Withinne the subtile stremes of hir eyen. 
Chaucer, Trollus, L 302. 
Let alone (imperative), to say nothing of ; not to men- 
tion ; leaving out of question. 
Re told me that I should meet two men whom I am cu- 
rious to see Jx>rd Plunket and the Marquess Wellesley : 
let alone the Chancellor, who Is not a novelty to me. 
Macaulay, in Trevelyan, I. 113. 
I wouldn't turn out a badger to you, let alone a man. 
Lawrence, Guy Livingstone, xvii. 
Let be (imperative), (a) Cease ; leave off. Also formerly 
lnHx: [Archaic.] 
had your tongue, ye lady fair, 
Lot a' your folly be. 
The Earl of Mar's Daughter (Child's Ballads, 1. 172). 
Let bee therefore my vengcaunce to disswade, 
And read where I that faytour false may find. 
Spenser, F. Q.. HI. 1L 13. 
The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Ellas will come 
to save him. Mat. xxvii. 49. 
Forgive me, 
I waste my heart In signs : let be. 
Tennyson, Princess, Til. 
(6) Leave alone ; do not trouble or meddle with. 
Ffeire lordes, lete be the Queue, and goyoureweyqnyte, 
(Tor I can yow good thanke for that ye haue of hir plte, 
and grumercy for that curtesie. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), 111. 591. 
Let her rip, let It run Its course, or do Its best or worst 
[Slang, U. SI 
" Lordy massy," ses he, " ef she don't do nothin* more 'n 
take a walk 'long-side on him now an' then, why, I say, let 
'errip sarveshlin right." H. B.Stouv, Oldtown, p. 60". 
Let me or us see, or let's see, let me or us consider or 
reflect Let seet. Same ns let me (or *) tee. 
" Now let He," quod Merlin, " what ye will do, for now Is 
ther ...in lesse." Merlin (E. E. T. S.X 11. 367. 
Quod the world to the child, " how many foolde 
Hast 1 lu HI in on, .,t richesse? now late M: 
Thou schuldist dele for hunger and coolde 
But y lente meete & clothe to thee." 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 58. 
To be let bloodt. See Wood. TO let abe. See ate. 
To let alone, to leave to himself or itself ; leave undis- 
turbed; avoid. 
Ephraim is joined to idols : let him alone. Hos. iv. 17. 
To let blood. See Wood. To let down, (a) To allow to 
descend; lower; give down: as, to let down a rope or a bid- 
der. 
He carryeth with him a long chayne, which hee letteth 
downe. Purcha*, Pilgrimage, p, 79. 
Ml carriage were let doirn 
'hackeray, Xewconies, xliv. 
The St. 
with a baiig. 
There's ne'er slch a cow i' t' Riding, If she'll only behave 
hersel'. She's a bonny lass, she is; let doicn her milk, 
there's a pretty ! Mrs. GasMl, Sylvia's Lovers, xv. 
(6) To bring down ; cause to be depressed or lowered. 
Every outlet by which he [Shaftcsbury] can creep out of 
his present position is one which lets him down into a 
still lower and fouler depth of infamy. 
Macaulay, Sir William Temple. 
(e) In metal-imrlciivf. to lower the temper of, as a tool or 
spring of steel which lias been made flint-hard. The teni- 
prr is rr.liii'c.l by liratini,', tin- attainment of the required 
degree of hardness being indicatnl i>\ Dir rnlnr. To let 
drive. See drive. To let fall, (a) To drop: allow or 
cause to drop, droop, or hang down : as, to let. fall a boat's 
oars (into the water, preparatory' to rowing). 
3410 
And therewith the Duke kit/all the ryng In to the see, 
the procesne and the cerymonyes wherof war to lung to 
wrytc. TorHngton, Diarie of Kng. Travell, p. 12. 
The goose let /all a golden egg. Tennyson, The Goose. 
(*) To allow to escape one, as an expression ; utter care- 
lessly or Incidentally. 
Least of all would Mrs. D. have willingly let /all a hint 
of the aerial castle building which she had the good taste 
to be ashamed of. George KIM, Daniel Deronda, Ix. 
To let fly. See /I)/' , o. t. TO let go. (a) To loosen the 
hold upon ; cease holding; cut loose : often (colloquially) 
followed by of: as, to let go a hawser ; let go of my hand. 
Also, colloquially, lea.ee go. (6) To pas* by or disregard. 
But to let go the name, and come to the very nature of 
that tiling which is thereby signified. 
Uooker, Ecclea. Polity, rti. 2. 
To let go amain. See amain'. TO let In. (a) To ad- 
mit ; allow to enter. ('<) To take In ; cheat ; swindle ; In- 
volve In something undesirable: as, he let me in for ten 
dollars. [Slang.) 
The farmer . . . persists In trying to convince himself 
that he was let in when he made himself liable for the 
tithes. Nineteenth Century, XXII. 262. 
To let into, to admit to knowledge of; trust with. 
As we rode side by side through the town, I was lei into 
the characters of all the principal Inhabitants whom we 
met In our way. Adduon, The Tory Fozhuntcr. 
Lady Teazle has lately suspected my views on Maria ; 
but she must by no means be let into that secret. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, Iv. 3. 
To let light Oft, to make light of ; despise. 
Whane the gouernaunce goth thus with tho the hons gie 
shulde, 
And letUh lyyhle qf the lawe and lesse of the peple, 
And herkeneth all to honour and to ese eke. 
Richard the Kedelea, iii. 284. 
To let loose, to set free ; release from restraint 
Thy master has let loose the boy I look'd for. 
Fletcher, Pilgrim, iv. 3. 
To let Off. (a) To allow to go ; excuse from service, task, 
or penalty : as, to let off a servant or a rogue, (b) To dis- 
charge with an explosion, as a fire-cracker. 
I cannot bear people to keep their minds bottled up for 
the sake of letting them off with a pop. 
George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xxxlx. 
To let one's self loose, to launch out unreservedly ; 
Indulge in unrestrained speech or conduct. [Colloq.] 
To let out. (a) To allow to pass out, as a prisoner. 
And [he) seide than to the porter, "Letr mite, for it is 
tyme;" and the porter seide tnci sholde not oute of the 
yates till the kyngo hadde comaunded. 
Mrrlin (E. E. T. S.\ U. 206. 
(b) To allow to escape, as a confined fluid or a secret 
A spere thom myn herte gan boore, 
it leete out the del-worthiest ollc that eucre was. 
Uymnt to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.X p. 52. 
(c) To extend by lessening a seam or a tuck, as a garment 
or a sail, (d) To make narrower, as a seam ; remove wholly 
or In part, as a tuck. To let Slide, (a) To leave out 
of consideration ; pay no attention to. [Slang.] 
Lei the world (lute: sesaa! SAo*.,T.of the S.,Ind.,i.c.. 
(6) To allow to slip away or escape ; suffer to be lost. 
[Slang.] 
If California was going to cost the Union so much, it 
would be better to let California slide. 
Quoted in Bartletts Americanisms. 
To let Slip, to allow to escape ; lose sight of. 
The Duke of Newcastle, who never let slip an opportu- 
nity of being absurd, took it up as a ministerial point, in 
defence of his creature the Chancellor. 
Walpole, Letters, n. 42. 
To let the cat out of the bag. See can. TO let well 
(or well enough) alone, to refrain from trying to improve 
that which is already tolerable ; leave matters as they are. 
= Syn. 6. Rent, Lease, etc. See Wrel. 
E[. intrant. I. To permit or allow something 
to be done, occur, etc.: in certain colloquial 
phrases. See below. 2. To be rented or 
leased: as, this house lets for so much a year. 
To let in, to leak ; allow something to enter, as water. 
To let on. (a) To allow (a matter) to be known ; be- 
tray one's knowledge : followed by a clause with that, or 
used, by ellipsis, absolutely : as, if he asks you, do not let 
on that you were there. [Colloq.] 
A weel-stockit mailen, liimsiT for the laird, 
And marriage aft-hand, were his proffers ; 
I never loot on that I kenn'd it, or car'd. 
But thought I might na'e wanr offers. 
Burn*, Last May a Braw Wooer. 
I saw the signal, for as quick as she was, but I never let 
on I saw it. C. Keade, Love me Little, xiv. 
(i) To pretend ; feign ; affect : as, let on that yon did not 
hear. [Local.] To let out. (a) To speak out; make some- 
thing known. [Colloq.] 
You bile the pot, and when I hare had a smoke, 111 let 
out, but not afore. Western Scenes. 
(6) To strike out [Colloq.] 
' At length, In a sort of frenzy, he took oft his coat and be- 
gan letting out at everybody around him, no matter whe- 
ther his victims were on his side of the question or not. 
Lester Wattadr, Memories, p. 101. 
(e) To be dismissed or concluded : as, school lets out at 
three. [Rural, U. 8. 1 
Tom whispered to Barbara that he would go and see if 
the horse was all right, and would meet her at the door of 
the Mount Zion tent when meeting should let out. 
E. Eyaletton, The Graysons, x. 
letgame 
To let up, to cease; Intermit; hold up; pause; rert: as, 
the rain in beginning to W up; will that scold never lei apt 
|i'oll(K|., U. 8.) A>o used imperatively. 
The man let* up on his watchfulness 
Elect. Res. (Amer.), XII. II. r.. 
let 1 (let), n. [< lefl, .] A letting for hire or 
rent. [Colloq., Eng.] 
Till this coach-house . . . gets a bettor M, we live here 
cheap. Dickens, The Chlnits, U. 
let 2 (let), f. [< ME. letten, < AS. lettan (pret. 
lettetle), make late, hinder (= OS. leltian = 
OFries. letta = D. letten = MLG. letten = OHG. 
Icyaii, lcz~nn, !<-< n, MI Hi. I<~:i'n.let2e, hinder 
(cl . G. ver-letzen, hurt, injure), = Icel. fefja, hin- 
der, = Goth, liitjiin, tarry), < leet, late, slow: 
see late*. Cl. left.] I. trans. To delay; re- 
tard; hinder; prevent; stop. [Obsolete or ar- 
chaic.] 
Bycause of his slknesse, 
Which Irtteit him to doon his blsynesse. 
Chaucer, Merchant's Tale, I. 680. 
The Duchesse Dowager was absolute in tho lands of her 
dowrle, and hoe could not let her to dispose of her own. 
Bacon, Hen. VII., p. 129. 
By heaven, 111 make a ghost of him that lets me ! 
Shot., Hamlet, L 4. 85. 
Sir King, mine ancient wound is hardly whole, 
And lets me from the saddle. 
Tennyson, Lancelot and Elaine. 
Il.t intrant. 1. To delay; hesitate; waver; 
be slow. 
" I may no lenger lilir." quod he, and Ivarde he pryked, 
And went away as wynde, and there-wlth I awaked. 
Piers Plovman 1 1 ; i, xvli. 349. 
Ther was a proud & very profane yongc man, . . . and 
[he] did not ( ' to tell them that he hoped to help to cast 
halfe of them over board before they came to their jurneys 
end. Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 75. 
8. To forbear ; cease ; leave off. 
Ne trnly for my dethe I shal not lete 
To ben her trewest servaunt and her knyght. 
Chaucer, Complaint of Mars, 1. 186. 
When Collatlne unwisely did not let 
To praise the clear unmatched red and white. 
Shak., Lucrece, L 10. 
3. To be a hindrance; stand in the way. 
He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the 
way. 1 Thes. it 7. 
let 2 (let), n. [<fe<2, p.] A retarding ; hindrance ; 
obstacle ; impediment ; delay : now currently 
used only in the tautological phrase "without 
let or hindrance." 
Whereto when as my presence he did spy 
To be a let, he bad me by and by 
For to alight Spenser, F. Q., VI. II. 17. 
It had been done ere this, had I been consul; 
We had had no stop, no ( ' 
B. Jonton. Catiline, ill. S. 
The conference with these Witches is one of the greatest 
lefts to the proceeding of the Gospell amongst them. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 883. 
-let. [< ME. -let, < OF. -let, m., -lette, t., prop. 
-el-et, being dim. -el + dim. -et. See examples.] 
A diminutive suffix, as in bracelet, hamlet, riru- 
let, etc., and other words from or based upon 
the French. It is also used as a purely F.ngllsh forma- 
tive, as In armlet, kinglet, nntelet, ritvjlet, etc., being often 
merely humorous. In eyelet and some other words the 
termination -let is not original. 
let-alone (let'a-lon'), a. and . I. ". Passive; 
inactive: as, a let-alone policy; the let-alone 
treatment in medicine. 
II. ". Forbearance. [Rare.] 
The let-alone lies not In your good will 
Shak., Lear, v. 3. 79. 
letch 1 (lech), r. t. [Also leach (and latfli : see 
/a(cfc2); < ME. "lecchen, < AS. leccan (= OHG. 
leken, lechen, MHG. leeken), wet, moisten: see 
leak, r.] Same as leach 2 . 
letch 1 (lech), n. [< letch*, r.] Same as leaclfl. 
letch 2 (lech), n. [Var. of leach*, lache*, ult. of 
/nfce 1 .q. v.] An almost stagnant ditch. [Prov. 
Eng.j 
letch 3 (lech). H. [< 'letch, lech, r.] Strong de- 
sire; an itching; a crotchet. [Rare or prov. 
Eng.] 
Then will the Earl take pity on his thralls. 
And pardon us our letch for liberty. 
Sir B. Taylor, Ph. van Artevelde, I.. II. . 
Some people have a letch for unmasking Impostors, and 
for avenging the wrongs of others. De Quincry. 
letchert, letcheryt, " Obsolete forms of leclier, 
lechery. 
letchy (leeh'i), a. [< Iftcl^ + -yi.] Same as 
booty. 
letet. Same as fair 1 -', fc/i, and fcttpi. 
letent. An old past participle of left. Chaucer. 
letgamet, . [ME., < left, r., + obj. <7<7mol.] A 
spoil-sport; a hinderer of pleasure. 
Dredeles It clere was in the wynde 
Of every pie, and every lette-oame. 
Troilua, Hi. 627. 
