α. see leave n.1 and taking n.
β. 1800s– leaves-taking.
leave-takingn.
/ˈliːvˌteɪkɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈlivˌteɪkɪŋ/ 1. The action of saying goodbye. Also: an instance of this; †a parting speech (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > [noun] > that which is or can be spoken > a speech > parting speech
leave-taking1448
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > [noun] > parting salutation > saying farewell or leave-taking
leave-taking1448
leavec1540
congee1577
valediction1614
goodbying1811
1448 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) i. 38 (MED) We toke our leve, and y yn my leve takyng seyyng, [etc.].
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 143 [He] passyt furth but leve-taking.
1511 H. Watson tr. Noble Hist. King Ponthus (new ed.) sig. H.iv At the leue takynge there was wepynge & waylynge ynough saynge.
1560 T. Chamberlain Let. 7 Dec. (P.R.O.: SP 70/21) f. 32v It werre not amisse..to let me at my leaue taking reiterate the motion made vnto this king at my L. Montagues first [coming]..towching the ratification of the treatis betwene your progenitors.
1591 ( Lady M. Sidney Very Godly Let. in Corr. Sir P. Sidney (2012) I. 5 And for a finall leaue taking for this time, see that you shewe your selfe as a louing obedient Scholer to your good Maister.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. iii. 143 And let vs not be daintie of leaue-taking, But shift away. View more context for this quotation
1665 S. Clarke Life & Death Hannibal 24 The Generals were accompanied with a great number that brought them out of the City, and dismissed them with Friendly leave-taking, and good wishes.
1744 J. Stevens Mod. Wife ii. ii. 33 So! they are both gone.—An odd Sort of a Leave-taking, sneaking Dogs!
1791 F. Burney Diary July (1842) V. 220 My last day..was filled with..packing, leave-taking, bills-paying, and lessoning to Mdlle. Jacobi.
1838 E. A. Poe Narr. Arthur Gordon Pym xx. 165 We had agreed..to pay a formal visit of leavestaking to the village.
1898 Cosmopolitan June 181/2 In her final leave-taking, Cora had genially proffered her services if he desired to know any or all of the young ladies.
1939 Fortune Oct. 73/1 That personality clashes helped to bring about some leave-takings is undoubtedly true.
1975 H. S. Levy Japanese Sex Crimes Mod. Times 123 When that happens accept defeat in good grace, arrange a solicitous leavestaking, and get a raincheck.
2007 Times BFI 51st London Film Festival Programme 48/1 The sense of leave-taking and return remain constant elements.
2. The action of taking leave from official duties, employment, etc.
ΚΠ
1839 C. Elliot Let. 29 May in Corr. China (1840) 411 in Parl. Papers XXXVI. 5 It [sc. an official paper] is in reply to my note of leave-taking, in which I mentioned that I was out of health.
1906 Jrnl. Assoc. Mil. Surgeons U.S. 18 456 Desertion and illicit leave-taking.
1928 Ann. Rep. Police City of Bombay 33 The health, not only of the men, but also of their wives and children..was a cause of constant leave taking.
1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 547/1 Goffman..described certain types of institutional behaviour under the heading of ‘messing up’: these include fighting, drunkenness,..improper leave-taking (absconding) and participation in collective riots.
1998 Guardian 7 Nov. (Saturday section) 3/2 Sick-note culture refers not to legitimate leave taking, but to institutional skiving.
Compounds
General attributive, as (in sense 1) leave-taking ceremony, leave-taking letter, etc., (in sense 2) leave-taking night, leave-taking pattern, etc.
ΚΠ
1680 Don Tomazo 102 A Dutch-woman..had so ravish'd, or rather infatuated him, upon the Leave-taking Night.
1769 E. Griffith Delicate Distress xi. in R. Griffith & E. Griffith Two Novels I. 46 She received a kind of leave-taking letter from him, excusing his perfidy, by her want of complaisance to his request.
1782 Earl of Malmesbury Let. 5 Apr. in Diaries & Corr. (1844) I. 496 The usual magnificent leave-taking presents are preparing.
1796 C. Smith Marchmont III. 256 Mrs. Glaston, without repeating the usual leave-taking compliments, departed.
1828 Lights & Shades Eng. Life II. 182 The Captain urged Charles to deliver a final leavetaking letter to Emily.
1843 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Misc. 1 152 Mr. Maddock took us to the leave-taking ceremony at the Shalimar gardens.
1895 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 845/2 She had remembered that leave-taking scene at the Waverley Station.
1934 F. A. Yates John Florio iv. 68 He was the bearer of a leave-taking letter to Walsingham.
1937 Decisions Acting Comptroller Gen. U.S. 16 Index Digest 1190/2 Legal residence..determines employee's right to free transportation from post of duty to port..and return for leave-taking purposes.
1971 J. Spencer Eng. Lang. W. Afr. 29 Greeting and leave-taking formulae never precisely match across cultural borders.
1975 Brit. Jrnl. Industr. Med. 32 193 Atomic bomb survivors..took significantly more days of both annual leave and sick leave than did matched and paired control subjects. These differences in leave-taking patterns are considered to be due to behavioural causes.
2008 H. R. M. Pauwels Goddess as Role Model iii. 184 The leave-taking ceremony is dealt with rather swiftly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1448