Leese

//liːz// name, verb

name, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To lose. obsolete

    "But flowers distill'd though they with winter meet, Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet."

  2. 2
    To release, set free. obsolete
  3. 3
    To hurt. obsolete, transitive
  4. 4
    To loosen, unfasten. obsolete
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
lettingrentadverse possessionalodiumbareboat charterburgage

Example

More examples

"But flowers distill'd though they with winter meet, Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English lesen, from Old English *lēosan (only attested in compounds: belēosan, forlēosan, etc.), from Proto-Germanic *leusaną (“to lose”), from Proto-Indo-European *lews- (“to cut; sever; separate; loosen; lose”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English lesen, from Old English lȳsan, līesan (“to let loose; release”), from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną. Cognate with Dutch lozen, German lösen, Swedish lösa.

Etymology 3

Compare French léser, Latin laesus.

Related phrases

set free

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.