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Webster 1913 Edition

Let

Let

(lĕt)
,
Verb.
T.
[OE.
letten
, AS.
lettan
to delay, to hinder, fr.
læt
slow; akin to D.
letten
to hinder, G.
verletzen
to hurt, Icel.
letja
to hold back, Goth.
latjan
. See
Late
.]
To retard; to hinder; to impede; to oppose.
[Archaic]
He was so strong that no man might him
let
.
Chaucer.
He who now
letteth
will
let
, until he be taken out of the way.
2. Thess. ii. 7.
Mine ancient wound is hardly whole,
And
lets
me from the saddle.
Tennyson.

Let

,
Noun.
1.
A retarding; hindrance; obstacle; impediment; delay; – common in the phrase without let or hindrance, but elsewhere archaic.
Keats.
Consider whether your doings be to the
let
of your salvation or not.
Latimer.
2.
(Lawn Tennis)
A stroke in which a ball touches the top of the net in passing over.

Let

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Let
(
Letted
(lĕt′tĕd)
,
[Obs]
.);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Letting
.]
[OE.
leten
,
læten
(past tense
lat
,
let
, p. p.
laten
,
leten
,
lete
), AS.
lǣtan
(past tense
lēt
, p. p.
lǣten
); akin to OFries.
lēta
, OS.
lātan
, D.
laten
, G.
lassen
, OHG.
lāzzan
, Icel.
lāta
, Sw.
låta
, Dan.
lade
, Goth.
lētan
, 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.]
He . . . prayed him his voyage for to
let
.
Chaucer.
Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets,
But to her mother Nature all her care she
lets
.
Spenser.
Let
me alone in choosing of my wife.
Chaucer.
2.
To consider; to think; to esteem.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
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.]
This irous, cursed wretch
Let
this knight’s son anon before him fetch.
Chaucer.
He . . . thus
let
do slay hem all three.
Chaucer.
Anon he
let
two coffers make.
Gower.
4.
To permit; to allow; to suffer; – either affirmatively, by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain or prevent.
☞ 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
.
Pharaoh said, I will
let
you go.
Ex. viii. 28.
If your name be Horatio, as I am
let
to know it is.
Shakespeare
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.
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.
☞ 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.
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.

Let

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To forbear.
[Obs.]
Bacon.
2.
To be let or leased;
as, the farm
lets
for $500 a year
. See note under
Let
,
Verb.
T.
To let on
,
to tell; to tattle; to divulge something.
[Low]
–
To let up
,
to become less severe; to diminish; to cease;
as, when the storm
lets up
.
[Colloq.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Let

LET

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. let. Letted is obsolete. [To let out, like L. elocare, is to lease.]
1.
To permit; to allow; to suffer; to give leave or power by a positive act, or negatively, to withhold restraint; not to prevent. A leaky ship lets water enter into the hold. Let is followed by the infinitive without the sign to.
Pharaoh said, I will let you go. Ex. 8.
When the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. Acts 27.
2.
To lease; to grant possession and use for a compensation; as, to let to farm; to let an estate for a year; to let a room to lodgers; often followed by out, as, to let out a farm; but the use of out is unnecessary.
3.
To suffer; to permit; with the usual sign of the infinitive.
There's a letter for you, Sir, if your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is. [Not used.]
4.
In the imperative mode, let has the following uses. Followed by the first and third persons, it expresses desire or wish; hence it is used in prayer and entreaty to superiors, and to those who have us in their power; as, let me not wander from thy commandments. Ps. 119.
Followed by the first person plural, let expresses exhortation or entreaty; as, rise, let us go.
Followed by the third person, it implies permission or command addressed to an inferior. Let him go, let them remain, are commands addressed to the second person. Let thou, or let ye, that is, do thou or you permit him to go.
Sometimes let is used to express a command or injunction to a third person. When the signal is given to engage, let every man do his duty.
When applied to things not rational, it implies allowance or concession.
O'er golden sands let rich Pactolus flow.
5.
To retard; to hinder; to impede; to interpose obstructions. 2Thess. 2.
[This sense is now obsolete, or nearly so.]
To let alone, to leave; to suffer to remain without intermeddling; as, let alone this idle project; let me alone.
To let down, to permit to sink or fall; to lower.
She let them down by a cord through the window. Josh. 2.
To let loose, to free from restraint; to permit to wander at large.
To let in or into, to permit or suffer to enter; to admit. Open the door, let in my friend. We are not let into the secrets of the cabinet.
To let blood, to open a vein and suffer the blood to flow out.
To let out, to suffer to escape; also, to lease or let to hire.
To let off, to discharge, to let fly, as an arrow; or cause to explode, as a gun.

LET

,
Verb.
I.
To forbear. Obs.

LET

,
Noun.
A retarding; hinderance; obstacle; impediment; delay. [Obsolete, unless in some technical phrases.]

LET

, a termination of diminutives; as hamlet, a little house; rivulet, a small stream. [See Little.]

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