• Leash

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /liːʃ/
    • Rhymes: -iːʃ

    Origin

    From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), from Latin laxa ("thong, a loose cord"), feminine form of laxus ("loose"); compare lax.

    Full definition of leash

    Noun

    leash

    (plural leashes)
    1. A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog.
      • Shakespearelike a fawning greyhound in the leash
    2. A brace and a half; a tierce.
    3. A set of three; three creatures of any kind, especially greyhounds, foxes, bucks, and hares; hence, the number three in general.
      • 1597, , by ShakespeareSirrah, I am sworn brother to a leash of drawers; and can call them all by their Christian names, as, Tom, Dick, and Francis.
      • 1663, Hudibras, by Samuel Butler, part 1,It had an odd promiscuous tone,
        As if h' had talk'd three parts in one;
        Which made some think, when he did gabble,
        Th' had heard three labourers of Babel;
        Or Cerberus himself pronounce
        A leash of languages at once.
      • Ben JonsonI kept my chamber a leash of days.
      • TennysonThen were I wealthier than a leash of kings.
    4. A string with a loop at the end for lifting warp threads, in a loom.
    5. (surfing) A leg rope.1980: Probably the idea was around before that, but the first photo of the leash in action was published that yearAs Years Roll By (1970's Retrospective), Drew Kampion, Surfing (magazine) magazine, February 1980, page 43. Quoted at surfresearch.com.au glossaryhttp://www.surfresearch.com.au/agl.html.

    Verb

    1. To fasten or secure with a leash.
    2. (figuratively) to curb, restrain
      • 1919, Boris Sidis, :Man is brow-beaten, leashed, muzzled, masked, and lashed by boards and councils, by leagues and societies, by church and state.

    Antonyms

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