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leaves

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leaves

  [leevz]
Use leaves in a Sentence
–noun
pl. of leaf.
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leaf

  [leef] noun, plural leaves  [leevz] , verb
–noun
1. one of the expanded, usually green organs borne by the stem of a plant.
2. any similar or corresponding lateral outgrowth of a stem.
3. a petal: a rose leaf.
4. leaves collectively; foliage.
5. Bibliography. a unit generally comprising two printed, blank, or illustrated pages of a book, one on each side.
6. a thin sheet of metal: silver leaf.
7. a lamina or layer.
8. a sliding, hinged, or detachable flat part, as of a door or tabletop.
9. a section of a drawbridge.
10. a single strip of metal in a leaf spring.
11. a tooth of a small gear wheel, as of a pinion.
12. leaf fat.
13. Textiles. shaft (def. 14).
–verb (used without object)
14. to put forth leaves.
15. to turn pages, esp. quickly (usually fol. by through): to leaf through a book.
–verb (used with object)
16. to thumb or turn, as the pages of a book or magazine, in a casual or cursory inspection of the contents.
—Idioms
17. in leaf, covered with foliage; having leaves: the pale green tint of the woods newly in leaf.
18. take a leaf out of or from someone's book, to follow someone's example; imitate: Some countries that took a leaf out of American industry's book are now doing very well for themselves.
19. turn over a new leaf, to begin anew; make a fresh start: Every New Year's we make resolutions to turn over a new leaf.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME leef, lef, OE lēaf; c. D loof, G Laub, ON lauf, Goth laufs

Related forms:
leafless, adjective
leaflike, adjective

leave

1  [leev] verb, left, leav⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to go out of or away from, as a place: to leave the house.
2. to depart from permanently; quit: to leave a job.
3. to let remain or have remaining behind after going, disappearing, ceasing, etc.: I left my wallet home. The wound left a scar.
4. to allow to remain in the same place, condition, etc.: Is there any coffee left?
5. to let stay or be as specified: to leave a door unlocked.
6. to let (a person or animal) remain in a position to do something without interference: We left him to his work.
7. to let (a thing) remain for action or decision: We left the details to the lawyer.
8. to give in charge; deposit; entrust: Leave the package with the receptionist. I left my name and phone number.
9. to stop; cease; give up: He left music to study law.
10. to disregard; neglect: We will leave this for the moment and concentrate on the major problem.
11. to give for use after one's death or departure: to leave all one's money to charity.
12. to have remaining after death: He leaves a wife and three children.
13. to have as a remainder after subtraction: 2 from 4 leaves 2.
14. Nonstandard. let 1 (defs. 1, 2, 6).
–verb (used without object)
15. to go away, depart, or set out: We leave for Europe tomorrow.
—Verb phrases
16. leave alone. alone (def. 7).
17. leave off,
a. to desist from; cease; stop; abandon.
b. to stop using or wearing: It had stopped raining, so we left off our coats.
c. to omit: to leave a name off a list.
18. leave out, to omit; exclude: She left out an important detail in her account.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME leven, OE lǣfan (causative formation from base of lāf remainder; see lave 2 ); c. OHG leiban (cf. G bleiben to remain), ON leifa, Goth -laibjan

Related forms:
leaver, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. abandon, forsake, desert; relinquish. 9. forbear, renounce. 10. ignore, forget. 11. bequeath, will; devise, transmit.

Antonyms:
1, 2. join.

Usage note:
Leave is interchangeable with let when followed by alone with the sense “to refrain from annoying or interfering with”: Leave (or Let) her alone and she will solve the problem easily. When he was left (or let) alone without interruptions, the boy quickly assembled the apparatus. The use of leave alone for let alone in the sense “not to mention” is nonstandard: There wasn't any standing room, let (not leave) alone a seat, so I missed the performance.
Other substitutions of leave for let are generally regarded as nonstandard: Let (not Leave) us sit down and talk this over. Let (not Leave) her do it her own way. The police wouldn't let (not leave) us cross the barriers. See also let 1 .

leave

2  [leev]
–noun
1. permission to do something: to beg leave to go elsewhere.
2. permission to be absent, as from work or military duty: The firm offers a maternity leave as part of its benefit program.
3. the time this permission lasts: 30 days' leave.
4. a parting; departure; farewell: He took his leave before the formal ceremonies began. We took leave of them after dinner.
5. Metallurgy. draft (def. 23).
6. Bowling. the pin or pins in upright position after the bowl of the first ball.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME leve, OE lēaf; akin to believe, furlough, lief

Synonyms:
1–3. liberty. 2, 3. vacation, furlough.

leave

3  [leev]
–verb (used without object), leaved, leav⋅ing.
to put forth leaves; leaf.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME leven, deriv. of lef leaf

draft

  [draft, drahft]
–noun
1. a drawing, sketch, or design.
2. a first or preliminary form of any writing, subject to revision, copying, etc.
3. act of drawing; delineation.
4. a current of air in any enclosed space, esp. in a room, chimney, or stove.
5. a current of air moving in an upward or downward direction.
6. a device for regulating the current of air in a stove, fireplace, etc.
7. an act of drawing or pulling loads.
8. something that is drawn or pulled; a haul.
9. an animal or team of animals used to pull a load.
10. the force required to pull a load.
11. the taking of supplies, forces, money, etc., from a given source.
12. a selection or drawing of persons, by lot or otherwise, from the general body of the people for military service; levy; conscription.
13. the persons so selected.
14. Sports. a selecting or drawing of new players from a choice group of amateur players by professional teams, esp. a system of selecting new players so that each team in a professional league receives some of the most promising players.
15. British. a selection of persons already in military service to be sent from one post or organization to another; detachment.
16. a written order drawn by one person upon another; a writing directing the payment of money on account of the drawer; bill of exchange.
17. a drain or demand made on anything.
18. draft beer.
19. an act of drinking or inhaling.
20. something that is taken in by drinking or inhaling; a drink; dose.
21. a quantity of fish caught.
22. Nautical. the depth to which a vessel is immersed when bearing a given load.
23. Also called leave. Metallurgy. the slight taper given to a pattern so that it may be drawn from the sand without injury to the mold.
24. Metalworking.
a. the change in sectional area of a piece of work caused by a rolling or drawing operation.
b. a taper on a die or punch permitting it to be withdrawn readily from the work.
25. Masonry. a line or border chiseled at the edge of a stone, to serve as a guide in leveling the surfaces.
26. Textiles.
a. the degree of attenuation produced in fibers during yarn processing, expressed either by the ratio of the weight of raw to the weight of processed fiber, or by the ratio between the varying surface speeds of the rollers on the carding machine.
b. the act of attenuating the fibers.
27. an allowance granted to a buyer for waste of goods sold by weight.
–verb (used with object)
28. to draw the outlines or plan of; sketch.
29. to draw up in written form; compose.
30. to draw or pull.
31. to take or select by draft, esp. for military service.
32. Masonry. to cut a draft on.
–verb (used without object)
33. to do drafting; work as a draftsman.
34. (in an automobile race) to drive or ride close behind another car so as to benefit from the reduction in air pressure created behind the car ahead.
–adjective
35. used or suited for drawing loads: a draft horse.
36. drawn or available to be drawn from a cask rather than served from a sealed bottle: draft ale.
37. being a tentative or preliminary outline, version, design, or sketch.
—Idiom
38. on draft, available to be drawn from a cask rather than from a sealed bottle: imported beer on draft.
Also, especially British, draught (for defs. 1, 3–10, 18–25, 38–33, 35–37).

Origin:
later sp. of draught (since 16th century)

Related forms:
draft⋅a⋅ble, adjective
drafter, noun

shaft

  [shaft, shahft]
–noun
1. a long pole forming the body of various weapons, as lances, halberds, or arrows.
2. something directed or barbed as in sharp attack: shafts of sarcasm.
3. a ray or beam: a shaft of sunlight.
4. a long, comparatively straight handle serving as an important or balancing part of an implement or device, as of a hammer, ax, golf club, or other implement.
5. Machinery. a rotating or oscillating round, straight bar for transmitting motion and torque, usually supported on bearings and carrying gears, wheels, or the like, as a propeller shaft on a ship, or a drive shaft of an engine.
6. a flagpole.
7. Architecture.
a. that part of a column or pier between the base and capital.
b. any distinct, slender, vertical masonry feature engaged in a wall or pier and usually supporting or feigning to support an arch or vault.
8. a monument in the form of a column, obelisk, or the like.
9. either of the parallel bars of wood between which the animal drawing a vehicle is hitched.
10. any well-like passage or vertical enclosed space, as in a building: an elevator shaft.
11. Mining. a vertical or sloping passageway leading to the surface.
12. Botany. the trunk of a tree.
13. Zoology. the main stem or midrib of a feather.
14. Also called leaf. Textiles. the harness or warp with reference to the pattern of interlacing threads in weave constructions (usually used in combination): an eight-shaft satin.
15. the part of a candelabrum that supports the branches.
–verb (used with object)
16. to push or propel with a pole: to shaft a boat through a tunnel.
17. Informal. to treat in a harsh, unfair, or treacherous manner.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE sceaft; c. G Schaft; cf. L scāpus shaft, Gk skêptron scepter

Related forms:
shaftless, adjective
shaftlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To leaves
leaf   (lēf)   


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n.   pl. leaves (lēvz)

  1. A usually green, flattened, lateral structure attached to a stem and functioning as a principal organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in most plants.

  2. A leaflike organ or structure.

    1. Leaves considered as a group; foliage.

    2. The state or time of having or showing leaves: trees in full leaf.

    3. A very thin sheet of material, especially metal.

    4. Such leaves considered as a group: covered in gold leaf.

  4. The leaves of a plant used or processed for a specific purpose: large supplies of tobacco leaf.

  5. Any of the sheets of paper bound in a book, each side of which constitutes a page.

    1. A very thin sheet of material, especially metal.

    2. Such leaves considered as a group: covered in gold leaf.

  7. A hinged or removable section for a table top.

  8. A hinged or otherwise movable section of a folding door, shutter, or gate.

  9. One of several metal strips forming a leaf spring.

v.   leafed, leaf·ing, leafs

v.   intr.

  1. To produce leaves; put forth foliage: trees just beginning to leaf.

  2. To turn pages, as in searching or browsing: leafed through the catalog.

v.   tr.
To turn through the pages of.

[Middle English, from Old English lēaf.]
leave 1   (lēv)   
v.   left (lěft), leav·ing, leaves

v.   tr.

  1. To go out of or away from: not allowed to leave the room.

    1. To go without taking or removing: left my book on the bus.

    2. To omit or exclude: left out the funniest part of the story.

    3. To have remaining after death: left a young son.

    4. To bequeath: left her money to charity.

    5. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.

    6. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.

    7. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    8. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

  3. To have as a result, consequence, or remainder: The car left a trail of exhaust fumes. Two from eight leaves six.

  4. To cause or allow to be or remain in a specified state: left the lights on.

    1. To have remaining after death: left a young son.

    2. To bequeath: left her money to charity.

    3. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.

    4. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.

    5. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    6. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

  6. To give over to another to control or act on: Leave all the details to us.

    1. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.

    2. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.

    3. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    4. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

    1. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

    2. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

  9. Nonstandard To allow or permit; let.

v.   intr.
To set out or depart; go: When can you leave?
Phrasal Verbs:
leave /let alone
To refrain from disturbing or interfering.
leave off

  1. To stop; cease.

  2. To stop doing or using.

Phrasal Verb(s):
leave /let aloneTo refrain from disturbing or interfering.
leave off

  1. To stop; cease.

  2. To stop doing or using.


Idiom(s):
leave no stone unturnedTo make every possible effort.

[Middle English leaven, from Old English lǣfan; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]
leav'er n.
Usage Note: Leave alone is an acceptable substitute for let alone in the sense "to refrain from disturbing or interfering." A majority of the Usage Panel in an earlier survey approved the following examples: Leave him alone and he will produce. Left alone, he was quite productive. Those who did not accept these examples generally felt that leave alone should mean simply "to depart from someone who remains in solitude": They were left alone in the wilderness. · In formal writing leave is not an acceptable substitute for let in the sense "to allow or permit." Thus in the following examples, only let can be used: Let me be. Let him go. Let us not quarrel. Let it lie.
leave 2   (lēv)   
n.  

  1. Permission to do something. See Synonyms at permission.

    1. Abbr. lv. Official permission to be absent from work or duty, as that granted to military or corporate personnel.

    2. The period of time granted by such permission. Also called leave of absence.

  3. An act of departing; a farewell: took leave of her with a heavy heart.


[Middle English leve, from Old English lēafe, dative and accusative of lēaf; see leubh- in Indo-European roots.]
leave 3   (lēv)   
intr.v.   leaved, leav·ing, leaves
To put forth foliage; leaf.

[Middle English leaven, from leaf, leaf; see leaf.]
leaves   (lēvz)   
n.  Plural of leaf.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

draft

A system for selecting young men for compulsory military service, administered in the United States by the Selective Service System. At present the United States relies on a volunteer military and does not have a draft, though young men are required by law to register with the Selective Service. (See also conscientious objector and draft dodger.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
leaf

  1. n.
    cocaine. (Sometimes with the. Cocaine is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant.) : The entire shipment of leaf was seized by the feds.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
shaft

  1. n.
    a bad deal; unfair treatment. : He really gave me the shaft.
  2. tv.
    to do wrong to someone; to harm or cheat someone. (See also shafted.) : We are going to shaft this guy in a way that he will remember.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

leaf 
O.E. leaf "leaf of a plant, page of a book," from P.Gmc. *laubaz (cf. O.S. lof, O.N. lauf, O.Fris. laf, Du. loof, O.H.G. loub, Ger. Laub, Goth. lauf), perhaps from PIE *leup- "to peel off, break off" (cf. Lith. luobas, O.C.S. lubu "bark, rind"). Extended 15c. to very thin sheets of metal (esp. gold). Meaning "hinged flap on the side of a table" is from 1558. The verb meaning "to turn over (the pages of a book)" is from 1663; the sense of a book page is that in the phrase to turn over a (new) leaf (1577). Leaflet is 1787 as a term in botany; 1867 as a term in printing and publication.

leave  (n.)
"permission," O.E. leafe, dat./acc. of leaf "permission," from W.Gmc. *lauba, cognate with O.E. lief "dear," the original idea being "approval resulting from pleasure." See also love, believe. In military sense, it is attested from 1771.

shaft  (2)
"long, narrow passage sunk into the earth," 1433, probably from shaft (1) on notion of "long and cylindrical," perhaps as a translation of cognate Low Ger. schacht in this sense (Grimm's suggestion, though OED is against it). Or it may represent a separate (unrecorded) development in O.E. directly from P.Gmc. *skaftaz in the original sense of "scrape, dig." The double sense of shaft is attested in country music song title, "She Got the Gold Mine, I Got the Shaft."

draft 
c.1500, spelling variant of draught (q.v.) to reflect change in pronunciation. Meaning "rough copy of a writing" (something "drawn") is attested from 14c.; that of "preliminary sketch from which a final copy is made" is from 1528. The meaning "to draw off a group for special duty" is from 1703, in U.S. especially of military service; the v. in this sense first recorded 1714. Draftee is from 1866. Sense in bank draft is from 1745.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

draft

A written order by one party for a second party to make payment to a third party. A check is an example of a draft drawn by a depositor (first party) on a financial institution (second party) and payable to an individual or organization (third party). See also overdraft, sight draft, time draft.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: draft
Function: transitive verb
1 : to select for some purpose; specifically : to conscript for military service
2 : to compose or prepare esp. the preliminary version of <drafting legislation> intransitive verb : to practice draftsmanship —draft·er noun

Main Entry: leave
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: left; leav·ing
: BEQUEATH, DEVISE
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: draft
Variant: or chiefly British draught /'draft, 'droft/
Function: noun
1 : a portion (as of medicine) poured out ormixed for drinking : DOSE
2 : a current of air in a closed-in space —drafty orchiefly British draughty /'draf-tE, 'drof-/ adjective

Main Entry: leaf
Pronunciation: 'lEf
Function: noun
: a thin layer or sheet of tissue leaf of the coronary ligament is continuouswith the right leaf of the falciform ligament>

Main Entry: shaft
Pronunciation: 'shaft
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural shafts /'shaf(t)s/
: a long slender cylindricalbody or part: as a : the cylindrical part of a long bone between the enlarged ends b : HAIRSHAFT
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

draft (drāft)
n.
A measured portion of a liquid or aerosol medication; a dose.

shaft (shāft)
n.

  1. An elongated rodlike structure, such as the midsection of a long bone.

  2. The section of a hair projecting from the surface of the body.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
leaf   (lēf)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

An appendage growing from the stem of a plant. Leaves are extremely variable in form and function according to species. For example, the needles of pine trees, the spines of cacti, and the bright red parts of the poinsettia plant are all leaves modified for different purposes. However, most leaves are flat and green and adapted to capturing sunlight and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They consist of an outer tissue layer (the epidermis) through which water and gases are exchanged, a spongy inner layer of cells that contain chloroplasts, and veins that supply water and minerals and carry out food. Some leaves are simple, while others are compound, consisting of multiple leaflets. The flat part of the leaf, the blade, is often attached to the stem by a leafstalk.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

leaves
leaf

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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