Found 1 items, similar to To let off.
English → English (gcide) Definition: To let off 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.] [1913 Webster] He . . . prayed him his voyage for to let. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets, But to her mother Nature all her care she lets. --Spenser. [1913 Webster] Let me alone in choosing of my wife. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. To consider; to think; to esteem. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 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.] [1913 Webster] This irous, cursed wretch Let this knight's son anon before him fetch. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] He . . . thus let do slay hem all three. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Anon he let two coffers make. --Gower. [1913 Webster] 4. To permit; to allow; to suffer; -- either affirmatively, by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain or prevent. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Pharaoh said, I will let you go. --Ex. viii. 28. [1913 Webster] If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]