leaves

[leevz] /livz/
noun
1.
plural of leaf.

leaf

[leef] /lif/
noun, plural leaves
[leevz] /livz/ (Show IPA)
1.
one of the expanded, usually green organs borne by the stem of a plant.
2.
any similar or corresponding lateral outgrowth of a stem.
3.
a petal:
a rose leaf.
4.
leaves collectively; foliage.
5.
Bibliography. a unit generally comprising two printed, blank, or illustrated pages of a book, one on each side.
6.
a thin sheet of metal:
silver leaf.
7.
a lamina or layer.
8.
a sliding, hinged, or detachable flat part, as of a door or tabletop.
9.
a section of a drawbridge.
10.
a single strip of metal in a leaf spring.
11.
a tooth of a small gear wheel, as of a pinion.
12.
leaf fat.
13.
Textiles. shaft (def 14).
verb (used without object)
14.
to put forth leaves.
15.
to turn pages, especially quickly (usually followed by through):
to leaf through a book.
verb (used with object)
16.
to thumb or turn, as the pages of a book or magazine, in a casual or cursory inspection of the contents.
Idioms
17.
in leaf, covered with foliage; having leaves:
the pale green tint of the woods newly in leaf.
18.
take a leaf out of / from someone's book, to follow someone's example; imitate:
Some countries that took a leaf out of American industry's book are now doing very well for themselves.
19.
turn over a new leaf, to begin anew; make a fresh start:
Every New Year's we make resolutions to turn over a new leaf.
Origin
before 900; Middle English leef, lef, Old English lēaf; cognate with Dutch loof, German Laub, Old Norse lauf, Gothic laufs
Related forms
leafless, adjective
leaflike, adjective
unleaf, verb (used with object)
unleaflike, adjective

leave1

[leev] /liv/
verb (used with object), left, leaving.
1.
to go out of or away from, as a place:
to leave the house.
2.
to depart from permanently; quit:
to leave a job.
3.
to let remain or have remaining behind after going, disappearing, ceasing, etc.:
I left my wallet home. The wound left a scar.
4.
to allow to remain in the same place, condition, etc.:
Is there any coffee left?
5.
to let stay or be as specified:
to leave a door unlocked.
6.
to let (a person or animal) remain in a position to do something without interference:
We left him to his work.
7.
to let (a thing) remain for action or decision:
We left the details to the lawyer.
8.
to give in charge; deposit; entrust:
Leave the package with the receptionist. I left my name and phone number.
9.
to stop; cease; give up:
He left music to study law.
10.
to disregard; neglect:
We will leave this for the moment and concentrate on the major problem.
11.
to give for use after one's death or departure:
to leave all one's money to charity.
12.
to have remaining after death:
He leaves a wife and three children.
13.
to have as a remainder after subtraction:
2 from 4 leaves 2.
14.
Nonstandard. let1 (defs 1, 2, 6).
verb (used without object), left, leaving.
15.
to go away, depart, or set out:
We leave for Europe tomorrow.
Verb phrases
16.
leave alone. alone (def 7).
17.
leave off,
  1. to desist from; cease; stop; abandon.
  2. to stop using or wearing:
    It had stopped raining, so we left off our coats.
  3. to omit:
    to leave a name off a list.
18.
leave out, to omit; exclude:
She left out an important detail in her account.
Origin
before 900; Middle English leven, Old English lǣfan (causative formation from base of lāf remainder; see lave2); cognate with Old High German leiban (compare German bleiben to remain), Old Norse leifa, Gothic -laibjan
Related forms
leaver, noun
Synonyms
1, 2. abandon, forsake, desert; relinquish. 9. forbear, renounce. 10. ignore, forget. 11. bequeath, will; devise, transmit.
Antonyms
1, 2. join.
Usage note
Leave is interchangeable with let when followed by alone with the sense “to refrain from annoying or interfering with”: Leave (or Let) her alone and she will solve the problem easily. When he was left (or let) alone without interruptions, the boy quickly assembled the apparatus. The use of leave alone for let alone in the sense “not to mention” is nonstandard: There wasn't any standing room, let (not leave) alone a seat, so I missed the performance.
Other substitutions of leave for let are generally regarded as nonstandard: Let (not Leave) us sit down and talk this over. Let (not Leave) her do it her own way. The police wouldn't let (not leave) us cross the barriers. See also let1.

leave2

[leev] /liv/
noun
1.
permission to do something:
to beg leave to go elsewhere.
2.
permission to be absent, as from work or military duty:
The firm offers a maternity leave as part of its benefit program.
3.
the time this permission lasts:
30 days' leave.
4.
a parting; departure; farewell:
He took his leave before the formal ceremonies began. We took leave of them after dinner.
5.
Metallurgy, draft (def 23).
6.
Bowling. the pin or pins in upright position after the bowl of the first ball.
Origin
before 900; Middle English leve, Old English lēaf; akin to believe, furlough, lief
Synonyms
1–3. liberty. 2, 3. vacation, furlough.

leave3

[leev] /liv/
verb (used without object), leaved, leaving.
1.
to put forth leaves; leaf.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English leven, derivative of lef leaf
Examples from the web for leaves
  • Boil the cabbage whole in a large pot of water for three to five minutes, or until the leaves turn bright green.
  • It leaves a really bad impression, especially the bold.
  • After raking leaves in the fall, put them to good use with leaf composting.
  • Depending on where you live, you may still have a few tenacious leaves hanging onto their trees.
  • The reddish leaves curl into tubes that lure insects that fall into digestive enzymes in the bottom, feeding the plant.
  • Wrinkled, dull green, finely toothed leaves are oval or lance-shaped.
  • Tree branches have inspired efficient transit networks, but a new study finds inspiration in leaves.
  • Rhubarb leaves poisoning occurs when someone eats pieces of leaves from the rhubarb plant.
  • The company leaves it up to individual professors to determine plagiarism.
  • And the ability of migrants to communicate with home directly leaves less room for sometimes criminal middlemen.
British Dictionary definitions for leaves

leaves

/liːvz/
noun
1.
the plural of leaf

leaf

/liːf/
noun (pl) leaves (liːvz)
1.
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants, usually consisting of a flat green blade attached to the stem directly or by a stalk related adjectives foliar foliate
2.
foliage collectively
3.
in leaf, (of shrubs, trees, etc) having a full complement of foliage leaves
4.
one of the sheets of paper in a book
5.
a hinged, sliding, or detachable part, such as an extension to a table
6.
metal in the form of a very thin flexible sheet: gold leaf
7.
a foil or thin strip of metal in a composite material; lamina
8.
short for leaf spring
9.
the inner or outer wall of a cavity wall
10.
a crop that is harvested in the form of leaves
11.
a metal strip forming one of the laminations in a leaf spring
12.
a slang word for marijuana
13.
take a leaf out of someone's book, take a leaf from someone's book, to imitate someone, esp in one particular course of action
14.
turn over a new leaf, to begin a new and improved course of behaviour
verb
15.
when intr, usually foll by through. to turn (through pages, sheets, etc) cursorily
16.
(intransitive) (of plants) to produce leaves
Derived Forms
leafless, adjective
leaflessness, noun
leaflike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English; related to Gothic laufs, Icelandic lauf

leave1

/liːv/
verb (mainly transitive) leaves, leaving, left
1.
(also intransitive) to go or depart (from a person or place)
2.
to cause to remain behind, often by mistake, in a place: he often leaves his keys in his coat
3.
to cause to be or remain in a specified state: paying the bill left him penniless
4.
to renounce or abandon: to leave a political movement
5.
to refrain from consuming or doing something: the things we have left undone
6.
to result in; cause: childhood problems often leave emotional scars
7.
to allow to be or remain subject to another person or thing: leave the past to look after itself
8.
to entrust or commit: leave the shopping to her
9.
to submit in place of one's personal appearance: will you leave your name and address?
10.
to pass in a specified direction: flying out of the country, we left the cliffs on our left
11.
to be survived by (members of one's family): he leaves a wife and two children
12.
to bequeath or devise: he left his investments to his children
13.
(transitive) to have as a remainder: 37 – 14 leaves 23
14.
(not standard) to permit; let
15.
(informal) leave be, to leave undisturbed
16.
(not standard) leave go, leave hold of, to stop holding
17.
(informal) leave it at that, to take a matter no further
18.
leave much to be desired, to be very unsatisfactory
19.
leave someone alone
  1. Also let alone See let1 (sense 7)
  2. to permit to stay or be alone
20.
leave someone to himself, not to control or direct someone
See also leave behind, leave off, leave out
Derived Forms
leaver, noun
Word Origin
Old English lǣfan; related to belīfan to be left as a remainder

leave2

/liːv/
noun
1.
permission to do something: he was granted leave to speak
2.
by your leave, with your leave, with your permission
3.
permission to be absent, as from a place of work or duty: leave of absence
4.
the duration of such absence: ten days' leave
5.
a farewell or departure (esp in the phrase take (one's) leave)
6.
on leave, officially excused from work or duty
7.
take leave, to say farewell (to)
8.
take leave of one's senses, to go mad or become irrational
Word Origin
Old English lēaf; related to alӯfan to permit, Middle High German loube permission

leave3

/liːv/
verb leaves, leaving, leaved
1.
(intransitive) to produce or grow leaves
Word Origin and History for leaves

leaf

n.

Old English leaf "leaf of a plant; page of a book," from Proto-Germanic *laubaz (cf. Old Saxon lof, Old Norse lauf, Old Frisian laf, Dutch loof, Old High German loub, German Laub "foliage, leaves," Gothic lauf), perhaps from PIE *leup- "to peel off, break off" (cf. Lithuanian luobas, Old Church Slavonic lubu "bark, rind"). Extended 15c. to very thin sheets of metal (especially gold). Meaning "hinged flap on the side of a table" is from 1550s.

v.

"to turn over (the pages of a book)," 1660s, from leaf (n.). The notion of a book page also is in the phrase to turn over a (new) leaf (1570s). Related: Leafed; leaved; leafing.

leave

v.

Old English læfan "to let remain; remain; have left; bequeath," from Proto-Germanic *laibijan (cf. Old Frisian leva "to leave," Old Saxon farlebid "left over"), causative of *liban "remain," (cf. Old English belifan, German bleiben, Gothic bileiban "to remain"), from root *laf- "remnant, what remains," from PIE *leip- "to stick, adhere;" also "fat."

The Germanic root has only the sense "remain, continue," which also is in Greek lipares "persevering, importunate." But this usually is regarded as a development from the primary PIE sense of "adhere, be sticky" (cf. Lithuanian lipti, Old Church Slavonic lipet "to adhere," Greek lipos "grease," Sanskrit rip-/lip- "to smear, adhere to." Seemingly contradictory meaning of "depart" (early 13c.) comes from notion of "to leave behind" (as in to leave the earth "to die;" to leave the field "retreat").

n.

"permission," Old English leafe "leave, permission, license," dative and accusative of leaf "permission," from West Germanic *lauba (cf. Old Norse leyfi "permission," Old Saxon orlof, Old Frisian orlof, German Urlaub "leave of absence"), from PIE *leubh- "to care, desire, love, approve" (see love (n.)). Cognate with Old English lief "dear," the original idea being "approval resulting from pleasure." Cf. love, believe. In military sense, it is attested from 1771.

leaves in Science
leaf
  (lēf)   

An appendage growing from the stem of a plant. Leaves are extremely variable in form and function according to species. For example, the needles of pine trees, the spines of cacti, and the bright red parts of the poinsettia plant are all leaves modified for different purposes. However, most leaves are flat and green and adapted to capturing sunlight and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They consist of an outer tissue layer (the epidermis) through which water and gases are exchanged, a spongy inner layer of cells that contain chloroplasts, and veins that supply water and minerals and carry out food. Some leaves are simple, while others are compound, consisting of multiple leaflets. The flat part of the leaf, the blade, is often attached to the stem by a leafstalk.
Slang definitions & phrases for leaves

leave

Related Terms

french leave


leaves in Technology


leaf

leaves in the Bible

of a tree. The olive-leaf mentioned Gen. 8:11. The barren fig-tree had nothing but leaves (Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:13). The oak-leaf is mentioned Isa. 1:30; 6:13. There are numerous allusions to leaves, their flourishing, their decay, and their restoration (Lev. 26:36; Isa. 34:4; Jer. 8:13; Dan. 4:12, 14, 21; Mark 11:13; 13:28). The fresh leaf is a symbol of prosperity (Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:8; Ezek. 47:12); the faded, of decay (Job 13:25; Isa. 1:30; 64:6; Jer. 8:13). Leaf of a door (1 Kings 6:34), the valve of a folding door. Leaf of a book (Jer. 36:23), perhaps a fold of a roll.

Idioms and Phrases with leaves

leaf

In addition to the idiom beginning with
leaf
also see:

leave

also see:
also see under:
let