french leave
/fɹɛnt͡ʃ ˈliv/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.90 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A departure taken quietly and unnoticed, without asking for permission or informing anyone.
Dated; Informal; Uncountable
noun
Desertion or temporary absence from duty or service without permission; absence without leave, AWOL.
Dated; Informal; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "As for Ditton, after all his courting, and his compliment, he ſtole avvay an Iriſhman's bride, and took a French leave of me and his maſter; […]"
- "he may have felt a particular need to mitigate the responsibility of those who shirked their duty, for as he wrote that letter he had just returned from French leave himself."
Etymology
From French (adjective) + leave (noun), apparently from a French custom, already recorded in the 18th century, of leaving from receptions or other events without formally announcing one’s departure to the host or hostess. Compare Spanish irse a la francesa and Portuguese sair à francesa (“go in the French manner”) but also the otherwise ubiquitous attribution of this behaviour to the English as with French filer à l’anglaise (“leave in the English manner”), Italian filarsela all'inglese, Polish wyjść po angielsku, etc.
Word Breakdown
- Root: *leyp-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /fɹɛnt͡ʃ ˈliv/
- British English: /fɹɛnt͡ʃ ˈliːv/