Where does “leave” come from?
Leave comes from French lever, from Latin levāre meaning "to lift," itself from the Proto-Indo-European root h₁lengʷʰ- meaning "to be light or lift."
leave (English): To have a consequence or remnant; To depart; to...
Definitions
- To have a consequence or remnant; To depart; to...
Ancestry of “leave”, step by step
leave traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French lever
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | lever | To raise, lift; To rise, stand up; To get up |
| 2 | Middle French | lever | to lift |
| 3 | Old French | lever | to lift; to get up |
| 4 | Latin | levō | to raise, elevate, lift up |
| 5 | Latin | lēvis | light, not heavy |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | leɣʷis | light |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁léngʰus | lightweight |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁lengʷʰ- | light |
via Middle English leven
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | leven | to leave |
| 2 | Old English | lǣfan | to leave |
| 3 | Frankish | laibijan | to leave; to leave behind |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | laibijaną | to leave behind, to leave remaining |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | lībaną | to remain, to be left |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | leyp- | to stick; fat or sticky substance |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lēy- | to leave, let; to want, desire; to let; leave... |