from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Let \Let\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Let} ({Letted} (l[e^]t"t[e^]d),
[Obs].); p. pr. & vb. n. {Letting}.] [OE. leten, l[ae]ten
(past tense lat, let, p. p. laten, leten, lete), AS.
l[=ae]tan (past tense l[=e]t, p. p. l[=ae]ten); akin to
OFries. l[=e]ta, OS. l[=a]tan, D. laten, G. lassen, OHG.
l[=a]zzan, Icel. l[=a]ta, Sw. l[*a]ta, Dan. lade, Goth.
l[=e]tan, 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.]
1. To leave; to relinquish; to abandon. [Obs. or Archaic,
except when followed by alone or be.]
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He . . . prayed him his voyage for to let.
--Chaucer.
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Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets,
But to her mother Nature all her care she lets.
--Spenser.
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Let me alone in choosing of my wife. --Chaucer.
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2. To consider; to think; to esteem. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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3. 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.
[Obs.]
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This irous, cursed wretch
Let this knight's son anon before him fetch.
--Chaucer.
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He . . . thus let do slay hem all three. --Chaucer.
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Anon he let two coffers make. --Gower.
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4. To permit; to allow; to suffer; -- either affirmatively,
by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain
or prevent.
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Note: In this sense, when followed by an infinitive, the
latter is commonly without the sign to; as to let us
walk, i. e., to permit or suffer us to walk. Sometimes
there is entire omission of the verb; as, to let [to be
or to go] loose.
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Pharaoh said, I will let you go. --Ex. viii.
28.
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If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it
is. --Shak.
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5. 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.
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6. 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.
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Note: 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. See {Gerund}, 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.
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{To let alone}, to leave; to withdraw from; to refrain from
interfering with.
{To let blood}, to cause blood to flow; to bleed.
{To let down}.
(a) To lower.
(b) To soften in tempering; as, to let down tools,
cutlery, and the like.
{To let fly} or {To let drive}, to discharge with violence,
as a blow, an arrow, or stone. See under {Drive}, and
{Fly}.
{To let in} or {To let into}.
(a) To permit or suffer to enter; to admit.
(b) To insert, or imbed, as a piece of wood, in a recess
formed in a surface for the purpose.
{To let loose}, to remove restraint from; to permit to wander
at large.
{To let off}.
(a) To discharge; to let fly, as an arrow; to fire the
charge of, as a gun.
(b) To release, as from an engagement or obligation.
[Colloq.]
{To let out}.
(a) To allow to go forth; as, to let out a prisoner.
(b) To extend or loosen, as the folds of a garment; to
enlarge; to suffer to run out, as a cord.
(c) To lease; to give out for performance by contract, as
a job.
(d) To divulge.
{To let slide}, to let go; to cease to care for. [Colloq.] "
Let the world slide." --Shak.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Loose \Loose\ (l[=oo]s), a. [Compar. {Looser} (l[=oo]s"[~e]r);
superl. {Loosest}.] [OE. loos, lous, laus, Icel. lauss; akin
to OD. loos, D. los, AS. le['a]s false, deceitful, G. los,
loose, Dan. & Sw. l["o]s, Goth. laus, and E. lose. [root]127.
See {Lose}, and cf. {Leasing} falsehood.]
1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed,
or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.
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Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat.
--Shak.
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2. Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty,
habit, etc.; -- with from or of.
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Now I stand
Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ?
--Addison.
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3. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.
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4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of
loose texture.
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With horse and chariots ranked in loose array.
--Milton.
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5. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose
style, or way of reasoning.
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The comparison employed . . . must be considered
rather as a loose analogy than as an exact
scientific explanation. --Whewel.
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6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to
some standard of right.
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The loose morality which he had learned. --Sir W.
Scott.
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7. Unconnected; rambling.
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Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose
and unconnected pages. --I. Watts.
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8. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels. --Locke.
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9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.
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Loose ladies in delight. --Spenser.
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10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language;
as, a loose epistle. --Dryden.
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{At loose ends}, not in order; in confusion; carelessly
managed.
{Fast and loose}. See under {Fast}.
{To break loose}. See under {Break}.
{Loose pulley}. (Mach.) See {Fast and loose pulleys}, under
{Fast}.
{To let loose}, to free from restraint or confinement; to set
at liberty.
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