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Left   /lɛft/   Listen
verb
Leave  v. t.  (past & past part. left; pres. part. leaving)  
1.
To withdraw one's self from; to go away from; to depart from; as, to leave the house. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife."
2.
To let remain unremoved or undone; to let stay or continue, in distinction from what is removed or changed. "If grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes?" "These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." "Besides it leaveth a suspicion, as if more might be said than is expressed."
3.
To cease from; to desist from; to abstain from. "Now leave complaining and begin your tea."
4.
To desert; to abandon; to forsake; hence, to give up; to relinquish. "Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee." "The heresies that men do leave."
5.
To let be or do without interference; as, I left him to his reflections; I leave my hearers to judge. "I will leave you now to your gossiplike humor."
6.
To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver; to commit; to submit with a sense of withdrawing one's self from; as, leave your hat in the hall; we left our cards; to leave the matter to arbitrators. "Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way." "The foot That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks."
7.
To have remaining at death; hence, to bequeath; as, he left a large estate; he left a good name; he left a legacy to his niece.
8.
To cause to be; followed by an adjective or adverb describing a state or condition; as, the losses due to fire leave me penniless; The cost of defending himself left Bill Clinton with a mountain of lawyers' bills.
To leave alone.
(a)
To leave in solitude.
(b)
To desist or refrain from having to do with; as, to leave dangerous chemicals alone.
To leave off.
(a)
To desist from; to forbear; to stop; as, to leave off work at six o'clock.
(b)
To cease wearing or using; to omit to put in the usual position; as, to leave off a garment; to leave off the tablecloth.
(c)
To forsake; as, to leave off a bad habit.
To leave out, to omit; as, to leave out a word or name in writing.
To leave to one's self, to let (one) be alone; to cease caring for (one).
Synonyms: Syn. To quit; depart from; forsake; abandon; relinquish; deliver; bequeath; give up; forego; resign; surrender; forbear. See Quit.


Leave  v. i.  (past & past part. left; pres. part. leaving)  
1.
To depart; to set out. (Colloq.) "By the time I left for Scotland."
2.
To cease; to desist; to leave off. "He... began at the eldest, and left at the youngest."
To leave off, to cease; to desist; to stop. "Leave off, and for another summons wait."


Left  past, past part.  Of Leave.


adjective
Left  adj.  
1.
Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which the muscular action of the limbs is usually weaker than on the other side; opposed to right, when used in reference to a part of the body; as, the left hand, or arm; the left ear. Also said of the corresponding side of the lower animals.
2.
Situated so that the left side of the body is toward it; as, the left side of a deliberative meeting is that to the left of the presiding officer; the left wing of an army is that to the left of the center to one facing an enemy.
Left bank of a river, that which is on the left hand of a person whose face is turned downstream.
Left bower. See under 2d Bower.
Left center, the members whose sympathies are, in the main, with the members of the Left, but who do not favor extreme courses, and on occasions vote with the government. They sit between the Center and the extreme Left.
Over the left shoulder, or Over the left, an old but still current colloquialism, or slang expression, used as an aside to indicate insincerity, negation, or disbelief; as, he said it, and it is true, over the left.


noun
Left  n.  
1.
That part of surrounding space toward which the left side of one's body is turned; as, the house is on the left when you face North. "Put that rose a little more to the left."
2.
Those members of a legislative assembly (as in France) who are in the opposition; the advanced republicans and extreme radicals. They have their seats at the left-hand side of the presiding officer. See Center, and Right.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Left" Quotes from Famous Books



... the revolution, but they said it practically, and they prefer to compromise and make peace. I believe that, if we take their offer, there will be such an outcry of rage and disappointment from the Left Socialists of Germany, Italy, France, and the world, that Lenin and Trotsky will be astonished. The Red Revolution—the class war—will be broken, and evolution will have its chance once more in the rest of ...
— The Bullitt Mission to Russia • William C. Bullitt
... and gracefully, and when it was finished, and she stood before us with the medal glittering on her breast, we did not know whether to smile or to cry,—some of us did one, and some the other.—We all had an opportunity to see her and congratulate her before we left the institution. The mystery of her six weeks' serving at our table was easily solved. She had been studying too hard and too long, and required some change of scene and occupation. She had a fancy for trying to see if she could support herself as so many young women are obliged to, and ...
— The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Physician and Poet not the Jurist)
... Eye was deeply humiliated. "Just the chance I had been looking for," he said, "and my wits suddenly left me." ...
— Birds and Bees, Sharp Eyes and, Other Papers • John Burroughs
... to spread his fame has come over me very strongly as I have stood in the council-rooms of the Venetian Republic, which he served so long and so well; as I have looked upon his statue on the spot where he was left for dead by the emissaries of Pope Paul V; and as I have mused over his grave, so long desecrated and hidden by monks, but in these latter days honored with an inscription. But other work has claimed me, and others must write upon this subject. It is well worthy of ...
— Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White Volume II • Andrew Dickson White
... to judge for yourself whether ye can safely to your soul's weal remain longer among these Papists and Quakers—these defections on the right hand, and failings away on the left; and truly if you can confidently resist these evil examples of doctrine, I think ye may as well tarry in the bounds where ye are, until you see Mr. Herries of Birrenswork, who does assuredly know more of your matters than I thought had been communicated to any man in Scotland. I would fain ...
— Redgauntlet • Sir Walter Scott


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