lætan

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *lātan.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlæː.tɑn/

Verb

lǣtan

to let, allow
- Exeter Book, Christ A, The Navitivity
  ...Ne lǣt awyrġde ofer us onwald āgan...
  Let not the accursed have power over us...
- c. 989–992 CE, Ælfric of Eynsham, “Sermon on the Beginning of Creation” (I), in Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A., ed. and transl., The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church, volume I, London: Richard and John E. Taylor, published 1844, page 10:
  God hí gesceop ealle góde, and let hí habban agenne cyre swa hí heora Scyppend lufedon and filigdon swa hí hine forleton.
  God let them have their own choice whether to love and follow their creator or abandon him.
- c. 989–992 CE, Ælfric of Eynsham, “On the Lord's Prayer” (XIX), in Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A., ed. and transl., The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church, volume I, London: Richard and John E. Taylor, published 1844, page 268:
  Forði anbidað God oft þæs yfelan mannes, and læt him fyrst, þæt he his mándæda geswice, ...
  God therefore often awaits the evil man, and leaves him time, that he may cease from his wicked deeds, ...
- Blickling Homilies, "The Third Sunday in Lent"
  Ēalā þū ġītsiġenda and welega, hwæt dēst þū þē ġif Dryhten on þē ġenimþ nigon dǣlas þīnes welan and þē lǣtt þone tēoðan dǣl ǣnne habban?
  You greedy rich people, what are you going to do if the Lord takes ninety percent of your wealth and only lets you have ten percent of it?
- c. 989–992 CE, Ælfric of Eynsham, “On the Festival of St. Peter the Apostle”, in Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A., ed. and transl., The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church, volume II, London: Richard and John E. Taylor, published 1846, page 382:
  Petrus cnocode forþ oþ þæt hīe hine inn lēton.
  Peter kept knocking until they let him in.
(auxiliary) to have someone do something, have something done [with infinitive]
- late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
  Hē sette scōle and on þǣre hē lēt cneohtas lǣran.
  He founded a school and had boys taught there.
- 996–997, Ælfric of Eynsham, “Natale Sancte Eufrasiæ Virginis [St. Euphrasia (or Euphrosyne), Virgin]” (Chapter XXXIII), in Rev. Walter W. Skeat, M.A., ed. and transl., Aelfric's Lives of Saints (Early English Text Society original series 114), volume II, London: N. Trübner & Co., published 1900, page 336, lines 22–23:
  ... Þa þæt cild wæs seofon wintre . þa leton hi hi fullian . and nemdon hi eufrosina ...
  When the child was seven years old, then they had her baptized, and named her Euphrosyne; ...
- Blickling Homilies, "The Annunciation of Saint Mary"
  God ne lǣtt ūs nā costnian ofer ġemet.
  God won't have us tempted more than we can handle.
to leave someone/something in a certain situation
- c. 989–992 CE, Ælfric of Eynsham, “The Nativity of St. Paul the Apostle”, in Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A., ed. and transl., The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church, volume I, London: Richard and John E. Taylor, published 1844, page 391:
  Sē hālga Paulus wæs ġestǣned oþ dēaþ, swā þæt þā ēhteras hine for dēadne lēton, ac þæs on morgne hē ārās and fērde ymb his bodunge.
  Saint Paul was stoned so severely that the attackers left him for dead, but then in the morning he got up and went back to preaching.
- 1038, charter concerning Harold Harefoot
  Sē ærċebisċop lēt hit eall tō heora āgene rǣde.
  The archbishop left it all to their own discretion.
- c. 989–992 CE, Ælfric of Eynsham, “Easter Sunday”, in Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A., ed. and transl., The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church, volume I, London: Richard and John E. Taylor, published 1844, page 228:
  Þā mānfullan hē lēt bæftan tō ēċum wītum.
  The wicked he left behind to suffer eternal torment.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Exodus 21:27
  Ġif hwā his wēales tōþ of āslēa, lǣt hine friġne.
  If someone knocks their slave's tooth out, set them free.
to suppose

Usage notes

In sense 2 (“to have something done, have someone do something”), lǣtan is used with the infinitive of the following verb, not the past participle: Iċ lēt hine tō Engla lande bringan þæt hē wiþ mīne lǣċas rēde (“I had him brought [lit. let bring him] over to England to consult with my doctors”).

Conjugation

Conjugation of lǣtan (strong, class VII)

indicative mood	present tense	past tense
infinitive	lǣtan	lǣtenne
first person singular	lǣte	lēt, leort
second person singular	lǣtst	lēte, leorte
third person singular	lǣtt, lǣt	lēt, leort
plural	lǣtaþ	lēton, leorton
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	lǣte	lēte, leorte
plural	lǣten	lēten, leorten
imperative
singular	lǣt
plural	lǣtaþ
participle	present	past
	lǣtende	(ġe)lǣten

Derived terms

Descendants

Middle English: leten, letten
- English: let
- Scots: lat, let, lete
- Yola: leth