Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - leave

 I. verb  (left; leaving)  Etymology: Middle English leven, from Old English l?fan; akin to Old High German verleiben to ~, Old English belifan to be left over, and perhaps to Lithuanian lipti to adhere, Greek lipos grease, fat  Date: before 12th century  transitive verb  1.  a.  (1) bequeath, devise left a fortune to his son  (2) to have remaining after one's death ~s a widow and two children  b. to cause to remain as a trace or aftereffect oil ~s a stain the wound left an ugly scar  2.  a. to cause or allow to be or remain in a specified condition ~ the door open his manner left me cold  b. to fail to include or take along left the notes at home the movie ~s a lot out  c. to have as a remainder 4 from 7 ~s 3  d. to permit to be or remain subject to another's action or control just ~ everything to me  e. let  f. to cause or allow to be or remain available ~ room for expansion left myself an out  3.  a. to go away from ; depart ~ the room  b. desert, abandon left his wife  c. to terminate association with ; withdraw from left school before graduation  4. to put, deposit, or deliver before or in the process of departing I left a package for you ~ a message  intransitive verb set out, depart  • ~r noun Usage:  Leave (sense 2e) with the infinitive but without to ~ it be is a mostly spoken idiom used in writing especially for humorous effect. It is not often criticized in British English, but American commentators, adhering to an opinion first expressed in 1881, still dislike it.  II. noun  Etymology: Middle English leve, from Old English leaf; akin to Middle High German loube permission, Old English aly?fan to allow — more at believe  Date: before 12th century  1.  a. permission to do something  b. authorized especially extended absence from duty or employment  2. an act of leaving ; departure  III. intransitive verb  (~d; leaving)  Etymology: Middle English leven, from leef leaf  Date: 14th century leaf