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.[1]
Derived terms

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.[1]

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".[2]

Noun

leet (plural leets)

  1. (UK) The European pollock.
    • 1854, William Hughes, A Practical Treatise on the Choice and Cookery of Fish‎, 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

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
  1. Brown, Lesley. The New shorter Oxford English dictionary on historical principles. Clarendon Oxford 1993 isbn=0-19-861271-0
  2. John Jamieson, Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (link): Common name in Scotland and North Country England, that varies regionally and confuses several species. Scottish lythe, laid, laith. Pollack. "...called leets on the coast near Scarborough... the lyth, or ly-fish, is frequently caught ... in deep holes among the rocks". cf. "To LYTHE, v. a. To shelter..."
  • “leet”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  • "leet" in the Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, MICRA, 1996, 1998.

Anagrams

Finnish

Noun

leet

  1. nominative plural of lee

Anagrams

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
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
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

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

leet n

  1. definite singular of le

Anagrams

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

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.

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
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