leet
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /liːt/
- Rhymes: -iːt
Audio (Canada) (file)
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)
Etymology 2
From Old English lēt, past tense of lǣtan (“to 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)
- (Britain, 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 erb lythe (“to shelter”), as it "is frequently caught ... in deep holes among the rocks".[2]
Noun
leet (plural leets)
Etymology 5
From Middle English lete, from Old English ġelǣt, ġelǣte, from Proto-Germanic *galētą, *lētą. More at leat.
Noun
leet (plural leets)
- (obsolete) A place where roads meet or cross; intersection
- Alternative form of leat (“watercourse”)
Adjective
leet (comparative leeter, superlative leetest)
- Of or relating to leetspeak.
- (slang) Possessing outstanding skill in a field; expert, masterful.
- (slang) Having superior social rank over others; upper class, elite.
- (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.
- 2006, Maximum PC (Autumn, page 26)
References
- Brown, Lesley. The New shorter Oxford English dictionary on historical principles. Clarendon Oxford 1993 isbn=0-19-861271-0
- 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.
Luxembourgish
Verb
leet
- inflection of leeden:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person plural present indicative
- second-person singular/plural imperative
Verb
leet
- inflection of leeën:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person plural present indicative
- second-person plural imperative
Middle Dutch
Etymology 1
From Old Dutch lēth, from Proto-Germanic *laiþaz.
Inflection
This adjective needs an inflection-table template.
Alternative forms
- leit (Limburgish)
Descendants
- Dutch: leed
Etymology 2
From Old Dutch *lēth, from Proto-Germanic *laiþą.
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
- “leet (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929
- “leet (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929
Norwegian
Saterland Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian let, from Proto-Germanic *lataz. More at late.