Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified period in exchange for a specified rent or other form of payment.
  • noun The term or duration of such a contract.
  • transitive verb To grant use or occupation of under the terms of a contract.
  • transitive verb To get or hold by such a contract.
  • idiom (a new lease on life) An opportunity to improve one's circumstances or outlook.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Australian mining, a mining leasehold; a piece of ground leased for the purpose of mining.
  • noun In weaving, the system of crossings in the warp-threads in a loom between the yarn-beam and the heddles, effected by passing each warp-thread alternately over and under the lease-rods.
  • noun A pasture.
  • noun A common.
  • noun A contract transferring a right to the possession and enjoyment of real property for life or for a definite period of time or at will, usually made in consideration of a periodical compensation called rent, in modern times usually payable in money, but sometimes in a share of the produce, and in former times frequently in services.
  • noun The written instrument by which a leasehold estate is created.
  • noun The duration of tenure by lease; a term of leasing; hence, the terminable time or period of anything: as, to take property on a long lease; a short lease of life.
  • To gather; pick; pick up; pick out; select.
  • Specifically To glean, as corn.
  • To glean; gather up leavings, as at harvest.
  • To grant the temporary possession of, as lands, tenements, or hereditaments, to another for compensation at a fixed rate; let; demise.
  • To take a lease of, or to take, as lands, etc., by a lease: as, he leased the farm from the proprietor.
  • False; lying; deceptive.
  • noun Falsehood; a lie.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise; ; -- sometimes with out.
  • transitive verb To hold under a lease; to take lease of.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To gather what harvesters have left behind; to glean.
  • noun The temporary transfer of a possession to another person in return for a fee or other valuable consideration paid for the transfer
  • noun The contract for such letting.
  • noun Any tenure by grant or permission; the time for which such a tenure holds good; allotted time.
  • noun a mode of conveyance of freehold estates, formerly common in England and in New York. its place is now supplied by a simple deed of grant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive to gather.
  • verb transitive to pick, select, pick out; to pick up.
  • verb transitive to glean.
  • verb intransitive to glean, gather up leavings.
  • noun an open pasture or common
  • verb transitive, intransitive To tell lies; tell lies about; slander; calumniate.
  • adjective false; lying; deceptive
  • noun falsehood; a lie
  • noun The place at which the warp-threads cross on a loom
  • verb transitive To operate or live in some property or land through purchasing a long-term contract (or leasehold) from the owner (or freeholder).
  • verb transitive To take or hold by lease.
  • verb intransitive To grant a lease; to let or rent.
  • noun A contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified period in exchange for a specified rent
  • noun The period of such a contract
  • noun A leasehold
  • verb transitive To release; let go; unloose.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services
  • verb grant use or occupation of under a term of contract
  • noun a contract granting use or occupation of property during a specified time for a specified payment
  • verb engage for service under a term of contract
  • verb let for money
  • noun property that is leased or rented out or let
  • noun the period of time during which a contract conveying property to a person is in effect

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English les, from Anglo-Norman, from lesser, to lease, variant of Old French laissier, to let go, from Latin laxāre, to loosen, from laxus, loose; see slēg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English lesen, from Old English lesan ("to collect, pick, select, gather"), from Proto-Germanic *lesanan (“to gather”), from Proto-Indo-European *les- (“to gather”). Cognate with Scots lease ("to arrange, gather"), West Frisian lêze ("to read"), Eastern Frisian lesen ("to gather, read"), Dutch lezen ("to gather, read"), German lesen ("to gather, read"), Danish læse ("to collect, read").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English lese, from Old English lǣs ("meadow"), from Proto-Germanic *lēswō (“meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēy-, *lēid- (“to leave, let”). Cognate with Old Saxon lēsa ("meadow"). See also leasow.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English *leasien, from Old English lēasian ("to lie, tell lies"), from lēas ("falsehood, lying, untruth, mistake").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English leas, lees, les, from Old English lēas ("false, void, loose"), from Proto-Germanic *lausaz (“loose, free”), from Proto-Indo-European *lū- (“to untie, set free, sever”). Cognate with German los ("loose"), Swedish lös ("loose"). More at loose.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From leash

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier ("to let, let go"), from Medieval Latin lassō ("to let, let go"), partly from Latin laxō ("to loose"); partly from Old High German lāzzan, lāzan (German lassen, "to let, let go, release"). Cognate with Old English lǣtan ("to allow, let go, leave, rent"). More at let.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English lesen, from Old English līesan ("to loosen, release, redeem, deliver, liberate"), from Proto-Germanic *lausijanan (“to release, loosen”), from Proto-Indo-European *leu- (“to cut, solve, separate”). Cognate with Dutch lozen ("to drain, discharge"), German lösen ("to release"), Swedish lösa ("to solve"), Icelandic leysa ("to solve").

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Examples

  • I have the honour to state that the term lease by negotiation contained in Article 2 of the Treaty respecting South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia signed this day shall be understood to imply a long-term lease of not more than thirty years and also the possibility of its unconditional renewal.

    The Fight for the Republic in China Bertram Lenox Simpson 1903

  • We are also looking at our financing leases and under our financing lease that would have some what the same effect where we would be able to record the revenue that we wouldn't be receiving the cash immediately, we would be paid over whatever the term lease may be.

    pfblogs.org: The Ad-Free Personal Finance Blogs Aggregator 2009

  • Buying into a lease is a gamble, most of the companies will already have a good idea if there is a chance of economically recoverable reserves there before they bid.

    Obama’s drilling bribe is insultingly small. | RedState 2010

  • And, of course, a tenant does not occupy the property merely until “the owner decides to revoke that use” unless his lease is at will (which is uncommon in this day and age).

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Do We Need to Subsidize Homeownership to Preserve Our National Identity? 2010

  • They're jacking up our rent yet again, and while our original lease price was a fair deal, our lease is about to expire ... and now they want to milk us for more dough.

    a move? again? eep ... but yay! 2004

  • If the lease is a simple contract, with a promise to pay rent exchanged for a promise to provide housing, then if the lessor "defaults" on the contract he must arrange for suitable housing.

    Housing Shortage at UVa at cvillenews.com 2003

  • Renovations are expected to begin as soon as the final version of the lease is approved by city and company officials.

    SNL Moving into Old NGIC Building at cvillenews.com 2002

  • I know the team is already beginning negotiations on a longer-term lease, which is something we need to get done.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed RACHEL BRADY 2011

  • Ginseng can live for 80 years hence, no short term lease.

    unknown title 2011

  • The facilities will be operated under a long-term lease, which is expected to provide an initial yield on cash rent of 8.75%.

    unknown title 2011

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