Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1785, 1881-1951
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0]
LEAVE, v.2, n.
I. v. To give leave to, permit, allow (Ags., Per., Wgt., Slk., Uls. 1960). Rare.Ags. 1951 C. Sellars Open the Westport 180:
I dinna think my mother will leave me.
II. n. 1. Dismissal from a job, discharge, notice to leave, congé (Sc. 1825 Jam.). Gen.Sc. Hence to get or give leave.Ayr. c.1785 Ayrshire Wreath (1844) 103:
Before the shearers, young and stark, Get baith their fee and leave.Ags. 1893 F. Mackenzie Cruisie Sk. xvi.:
But it wad be a kind o' against ye if ye got your leave.Kcb. 1896 Crockett Cleg Kelly lv.:
I hae gotten my fee an' my leave.Sc. 1899 E. F. Heddle Marget at Manse 59:
Lord Arranben was rale angered, and gied them a' their leave.
2. Permission to a pupil to leave the class-room during a school lesson, the interval of playtime in a school working-day. Cf. I. Also dim. leavie, pl. leavies, a snack taken by a school pupil to eat at the morning break (Rxb. 1975). Comb. leave-out (also leavins oot). Gen.Sc.Abd. 1881 J. W. Ritchie Geordie Tough's Squeel (1931) 13:
An' syne we got oor leavin's oot Tae play oorsel's an' rin aboot.Ayr. 1900 G. Douglas Green Shutters vii.:
He reached "leave," the ten minutes' run at twelve o'clock, without misadventure.Sh. 1916 J. Burgess Rasmie's Smaa Murr (Siptember 11):
Some kings is bit deevils 'at's gotten leave-oot.Ags. 1920 D. H. Edwards Men & Manners 219:
The solemn-looking old clock had apparently ever been an object of interest to the bairns — specially so, no doubt, at "leavie" and "piece"times.Rxb. 1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes 10:
The bairns new oot o the skuil for leave, gaed … rinnin aboot.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Leave v.2, n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/leave_v2_n>
