Etymology 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.
1
LawFormal An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
2
An interest granting exclusive use of any thing, such as a car or boat.
3
The contract or deed under which such an interest is granted.
4
The document containing such a contract or deed.
5
The period of such an interest.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: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:
6
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, SciencesAbbreviation Short for DHCP lease The temporary assignment of an IP address to a networked device.
Etymology 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.
Etymology From Middle English lesen, from Old English lesan (“to collect, pick, select, gather”), from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic *lesaną (“to gather”).
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.1928, Thomas Hardy, He Never Expected Much:
lease
verb
Etymology From Middle English lesen, from Old English lēasian (“to lie, tell lies”), from lēas (“falsehood, lying, untruth, mistake”).