leash

The story

1. Latin · derived fromlaxāre“loose”
2. Old French · derived fromlesser
3. Latin · derived fromlaxa
4. Old French · derived fromlesse
5. Middle English · derived fromlees
6. Middle English · inherited fromleesshe
7. English todayleash

From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), either from Latin laxa, feminine form of laxus (“loose”) or, more probably, from a deverbal of Old French lesser, laissier, from Latin laxāre (“loose”); compare lax. Doublet of laisse.

Words from the same roots