Let, v. 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.
Shak.
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 drive or fly, to discharge with
violence, as a blow, an arrow, or stone. See under Drive, and
Fly. -- To let in or 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.