leet

See also: Leet, le'et', and léët

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liːt/
• Rhymes: -iːt

• Audio (Canada)

  (file)

• Homophone: Leith (with th-stopping)

Etymology 1

From Scots leet, leit, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old French lite, litte, variant of liste (“list”); or from Old Norse leiti, hleyti (“a share, portion”) (compare Old English hlēte (“share, lot”)); or an aphaeretic shortening of French élite.

Noun

leet (plural leets)

1. (Scotland) A portion or list, especially a list of candidates for an office; also the candidates themselves.

Derived terms

• long leet
• short leet

Etymology 2

From Old English lēt, past tense of lǣtan (“to let”).

Verb

leet

1. (obsolete) simple past of let

Etymology 3

Originated 1400–50 from late Middle English lete (“meeting”), from Anglo-Norman lete and Medieval Latin leta (Anglo-Latin), possibly from Old English ġelǣte (“crossroads”).

Noun

leet (plural leets)

1. (British, obsolete) A regular court, more specifically a court-leet, in which certain lords had jurisdiction over local disputes, or the physical area of this jurisdiction.

Etymology 4

Jamieson mentions the alternative spellings lyth, lythe, laid, and laith, and connects it to a verb lythe (“to shelter”), as it "is frequently caught ... in deep holes among the rocks".

Noun

leet (plural leets)

1. (UK) The European pollock.
   • 1854, William Hughes, A Practical Treatise on the Choice and Cookery of Fish‎^[1], Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, page 27:

     The whiting pollock sometimes, par excellence is styled pollock only. On the Yorkshire coast it is called a leet, and in Scotland a lythe.

Etymology 5

From Middle English lete, from Old English ġelǣt, ġelǣte, from Proto-Germanic *galētą, *lētą. More at leat.

Noun

leet (plural leets)

1. (obsolete) A place where roads meet or cross; intersection
2. Alternative form of leat (“watercourse”)

Etymology 6

An aphetic form of elite, respelled according to leetspeak conventions.

Alternative forms

• 1337, eleet, el337, l33t, 31337, and 3l33t.

Noun

leet (uncountable)

1. (Internet slang, dated) Abbreviation of leetspeak.

Adjective

leet (comparative leeter, superlative leetest)

1. Of or relating to leetspeak.
2. (slang) Possessing outstanding skill in a field; expert, masterful.
3. (slang) Having superior social rank over others; upper class, elite.
4. (slang) Awesome, typically to describe a feat of skill; cool, sweet.
   • 2006, Maximum PC (Autumn, page 26)

     Powered by leetness! You can have the leetest hardware imaginable in your gaming rig, but it won't matter if you run it with a cheap power supply.

References

• “leet”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "leet" in the Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, MICRA, 1996, 1998.

Anagrams

• Teel, Tele, teel, tele, tele-

Finnish

Noun

leet

1. nominative plural of lee

Anagrams

• tele, tele-

Luxembourgish

Verb

leet

1. inflection of leeden:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person plural present indicative
   3. second-person singular/plural imperative

Verb

leet

1. inflection of leeën:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person plural present indicative
   3. second-person plural imperative

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch lēth, from Proto-West Germanic *laiþ.

Adjective

lêet

1. loathsome, abhorrent

Inflection

Adjective
		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	Indefinite	lêet	lêde	lêet	lêde
	Definite	lêde		lêde
Accusative	Indefinite	lêden	lêde	lêet	lêde
	Definite			lêde
Genitive		lêets	lêder	lêets	lêder
Dative		lêden	lêder	lêden	lêden

Alternative forms

• leit (Limburgish)

Descendants

• Dutch: leed

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *lēth, from Proto-Germanic *laiþą.

Noun

lêet n

1. damage, harm
2. suffering, sadness
3. sickness

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms

• leit (Limburgish)

Descendants

• Dutch: leed
• Limburgish: leidj

Further reading

• “leet (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “leet (III)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “leet (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “leet (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page II

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

leet

1. simple past and past participle of lee

Alternative forms

• lea

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

leet n

1. definite singular of le

Anagrams

• elte, etle, lete, tele

Plautdietsch

Adjective

leet

1. sorry, regretful, rueful

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian let, from Proto-West Germanic *lat. More at late.

Adjective

leet

1. late

Related terms

• lääst
• leeter

Scots

Etymology

Compare Old English hlēte (“share, lot”).

Noun

leet (plural leets)

1. a list

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English lete, from Old English ġelǣte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liːt/

Noun

leet

1. leading road
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 78:

     Vour-wing leet.

     Four cross roads.

Related terms

• boagher

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 52