let

• lett (archaic)
• lettest (2nd person singular simple present and simple past; archaic)
• letteth (3rd person singular simple present; archaic)

• IPA^(key): /lɛt/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɛt
• Homophone: Lett

From Middle English leten, læten, from Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, bequeath, leave, rent”), from Proto-West Germanic *lātan, from Proto-Germanic *lētaną (“to leave behind, allow”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- (“to let, leave behind”).

let (third-person singular simple present lets, present participle letting, simple past let or (obsolete) leet, past participle let or (obsolete) letten)

1. (transitive) To allow to, not to prevent (+ infinitive, but usually without to).

   After he knocked for hours, I decided to let him come in.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 8:28:

     Pharaoh said, I will let you go.

   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:

     If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is […]

   • 1971, Ursula K. Le Guin, The Tombs of Atuan:

     He could not be let die of thirst there alone in the dark.

   • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:

     The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing", […] and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.

2. (transitive) To allow to be or do without interference; to not disturb or meddle with; to leave (someone or something) alone.

   Let me be!

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 16:

     Yet neither spinnes nor cardes, ne cares nor frets, / But to her mother Nature all her care she lets.

3. (transitive) To allow the release of (a fluid).

   The physicians let about a pint of his blood, but to no avail.

4. (transitive) To allow possession of (a property etc.) in exchange for rent.

   I decided to let the farmhouse to a couple while I was working abroad.

   • 1965, Roger Miller (lyrics and music), “King Of The Road”:

     Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents.

5. (transitive) To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or contract; often with out.

   to let the building of a bridge;  to let out the lathing and the plastering

6. (auxiliary, transitive) Used to introduce a first or third person imperative verb construction.

   Let's put on a show!

   Let us have a moment of silence.

   Let me just give you the phone number.

   Let P be the point where AB and OX intersect.

7. (transitive, obsolete except with know) To cause (+ bare infinitive).

   Can you let me know what time you'll be arriving?

   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter IV, in Le Morte Darthur, book IV:

     Soo within a whyle kynge Pellinore cam with a grete hoost / and salewed the peple and the kyng / and ther was grete ioye made on euery syde / Thenne the kyng lete serche how moche people of his party ther was slayne / And ther were founde but lytel past two honderd men slayne and viij knyȝtes of the table round in their pauelions

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1818, John Keats, To—:

     Time's sea hath been five years at its slow ebb, / Long hours have to and fro let creep the sand […].

• The use of “let” to introduce an imperative may sometimes be confused with its use, as its own imperative, in the sense of “to allow”. For example, the sentence “Let me go to the store.” could either be a second-person imperative of “let” (addressing someone who might prevent the speaker from going to the store) or a first-person singular imperative of “go” (not implying any such preventer).

• (to allow): allow, permit

let (plural lets)

1. The allowing of possession of a property etc. in exchange for rent.
   • 1854, Charles Dickens, Christmas Stories‎, page 317:

     Then he says “You would call it a Good Let, Madam?”
     “O certainly a Good Let sir.”

From Middle English letten (“to hinder, delay”), from Old English lettan (“to hinder, delay”; literally, “to make late”), from Proto-West Germanic *lattjan, from Proto-Germanic *latjaną. Akin to Old English latian (“to delay”), Dutch letten, Old English læt (“late”). More at late, delay.

let (third-person singular simple present lets, present participle letting, simple past letted, past participle let)

1. (archaic) To hinder, prevent, impede, hamper, cumber; to obstruct (someone or something).
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Thessalonians 2:7:

     He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

   • 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Elaine”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 152:

     Sir King, mine ancient wound is hardly whole, / And lets me from the saddle; […]

2. (obsolete) To prevent someone from doing something; also to prevent something from happening.
   • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur Book XXI, Chapter ii, leaf 421r:

     & there was syr Mordred redy awaytynge vpon his londage to lette his owne fader to lāde vp the lande that he was kyng ouer.
     "And there was Sir Mordred ready awaiting upon his landing, to let his own father to land upon the land that he was king over."

   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts viij:

     And as they went on their waye, they cam unto a certayne water, and the gelded man sayde: Se here is water, what shall lett me to be baptised?

3. (obsolete) To tarry or delay.
   • 1826, Early Metrical Tales; Including the History of Sir Egeir, Sir Gryme, and Sir Gray-Steill, Edinburgh, The History of Sir Eger, Sir Grahame, And Sir Gray-Steel, page 7:

     And for that strake I would not let, / Another upon him soon I set, […]

let (plural lets)

1. An obstacle or hindrance.
   • 1552 June 22 (Gregorian calendar), Hugh Latimer, Augustine Bernher, compiler, “Sermon XXV. Preached on the Twenty First Sunday after Trinity.”, in The Sermons of the Right Reverend Father in God, Master Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester. […], volume II, London: […] J. Scott, […], published 1758, →OCLC, page 541:

     [E]ver conſider vvhether our doings be to the let of our ſalvation or not.

     The spelling has been modernized.

   • 1567, Ovid, “The Third Booke”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC, lines 60–61:

     And Cadmus saw his campanie make tarience in that sort / He marveld what should be their let, and went to seeke them out.

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 16, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     Paulus Emilius going to the glorious expedition of Macedon, advertised the people of Rome during his absence not to speake of his actions: For the licence of judgements is an especiall let in great affaires.

2. (tennis) The hindrance caused by the net during serve, only if the ball falls legally.

• without let or hindrance

• The Dictionary of the Scots Language

• ELT, ETL, LTE, TEL, TLE, Tel., elt, tel

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛt]

• audio

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• Homophone: led

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *letъ.

let m inan

1. flight (the act of flying)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

let n

1. genitive plural of léto

• let in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• let in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• let in Internetová jazyková příručka

From Old Norse léttr, from Proto-Germanic *linhtaz, cognate with Swedish lätt, English light and German leicht.

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛd̥]

let (plural and definite singular attributive lette)

1. light (not heavy)
2. easy
3. slight
4. mild

• (easy): nem, enkel

• “let,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

let

1. lightly
2. easily
3. slightly
4. mildly

Abbreviation of letmælk.

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛd̥]

let c (singular definite letten, plural indefinite let)

1. low-fat milk

• “let,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛd̥]

let

1. imperative of lette

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): [ˈleˀd̥]

let

1. past participle of le

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛt

let

1. inflection of letten:
   1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

• tel

Borrowed from English let.

• IPA^(key): /lɛt/

• Audio

  (file)

let

1. (tennis) indicates a let on service

• “let”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Latin lēctus, perfect passive participle of legō.

let

1. past participle of lei (“read”)

lēt

1. Romanization of 𐌻𐌴𐍄

• led

• IPA^(key): /lʲɛt̪ˠ/

let (triggers lenition)

1. (Munster) Contraction of le do (“with your sg”).

   let thoil ― please

From Old Frisian lēta, from Proto-West Germanic *lātan.

• IPA^(key): /lɛtʰ/

let (present let, 2nd singular letst, 3rd singular let, past let, perfect leten)

1. (Sylt) to let

From Old Norse litr (“colour”), related to líta (“to see”).

let m (definite singular leten, indefinite plural leter, definite plural letene)

1. colour

• farge

• hamlet

let

1. imperative of lete

• “let” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse litr (“colour”), from Proto-Germanic *wlitiz, *wlituz. Related to Old Norse líta (“to see”).

• (non-standard since 2012) lett

let m (definite singular leten, indefinite plural leter or letar, definite plural letene or letane)

1. colour

   Synonym: farge

• hamlet

let

1. present tense of la
2. present of lata
3. past tense of la
4. past of lata

let

1. imperative of leta

• “let” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• elt, etl, lèt, lét, tel

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *letъ.

• IPA^(key): /lêːt/

lȇt m (Cyrillic spelling ле̑т)

1. flight

• lèteti

• “let” in Hrvatski jezični portal

From Proto-Slavic *letъ.

• IPA^(key): /lɛ́t/

lȅt m inan

1. flight

From English leather.

let

1. leather
2. strap (of leather)
3. belt