Etymograph

English

leese

Leese comes from Middle English lesen ‘to misplace or mislay’, from Proto-West Germanic *leusan ‘to lose, to cease to have’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lews- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lews-‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*leusaną‘to lose’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*leusan‘to lose, to cease to have’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēosan
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lesen‘to misplace or mislay’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1579leese

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lews-‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*leusaną‘to lose’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*leusan‘to lose, to cease to have’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēosan
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lesen‘to misplace or mislay’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1579leese

Earliest quotation: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, September. Ægloga Nona.: “Yet better leave off with a little losse, Then…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lews- ‘to cut’

los, 1 more

through Proto-Germanic *leusaną ‘to lose’

loose, shameless, lorn, loess, 2 more

through Middle English lesen ‘to misplace or mislay’

lease

Today it means

verb To lose.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lews- / leese

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