leavingn.
/ˈliːvɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈlivɪŋ/ 1. Something remaining, esp. after the rest has been used; the residue, remains, leftovers.† a. singular. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > leavings after main part exhausted
leaving1340
leavingc1350
beleavingc1440
residence?1545
afterings1609
refuse1665
fleeting-milka1670
tailings1764
rinsing1812
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 73 (MED) Guo in-to purgatoriie..nou hi doþ þer þe leuinge of hare penonce.
?c1425 Crafte Nombrynge in R. Steele Earliest Arithm. in Eng. (1922) 18 Medye þat þe quych leues after þe takyinge away of þat þat is odde, þe quych leuynge schalle be 3.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xlviii. l. 468 To aleyn token they Ageyn the leveng Of that fisch In Certeyn.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Comm. on Canticles (Univ. Oxf. 64) in Psalter (1884) 496 I soght the lefynge of my ȝeris.
1596 B. Griffin Fidessa xxxv. sig. D2 I am no leauing of al-withering age.
b. In plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > leavings after main part exhausted
leaving1340
leavingc1350
beleavingc1440
residence?1545
afterings1609
refuse1665
fleeting-milka1670
tailings1764
rinsing1812
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xx. 12 (MED) Þou shalt make rady her semblant in þy leuinges [L. in reliquiis].
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 97 Off the levenges [L. reliquiis] of whiche cite, after the seyenge of Seynte Ierom, ij. cites were made in Persida.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xvi. §16. 58 Thai left thaire leuyngis till thaire smale.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Mark viii. f. lvv Howe many baskettes of the levinges of broken meate toke ye up?
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Leuynges or thinges left, reliquiæ.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos iii. F iv The leauinges [L. reliquias] of Achilles wyld.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Fanfreluches, riffe raffe, the leauings or shreds of any thing.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. Gv To dine vpon my scraps, my leauings?
1646 W. Jenkyn Reformation's Remora 28 Shall God have Satans leavings?
1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. i. i. 7 Now you have but the Leavings of my will.
1686 A. Horneck Crucified Jesus v. 72 The poorer sort..carried the leavings or fragments home.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxi. 215 Truly, she'd have none of Polly's Leavings; no, not she!
?1790 J. Imison Curious & Misc. Articles (new ed.) 74 in School of Arts (ed. 2) The student should make it a rule to save the leavings of his colours.
1816 Crit. Rev. Mar. 217 The Curiosities of Literature may be considered as the unappropriated leavings of the various works above mentioned.
1859 T. B. Macaulay W. Pitt in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 8) XVII. 734/1 He gave only the leavings of his time and the dregs of his fine intellect.
1867 M. Arnold Immortality in New Poems 100 And will not, then, the immortal armies scorn The world's poor, routed leavings?
1911 F. W. Hackwood Good Old Times v. 71 Alms-drink was the name given to the leavings in the drinking-cups which were all collected and served out to the poor and needy.
1941 E. B. White in Harper's Mag. Oct. 554/1 The boat was the same boat,..the ribs broken in the same places, and under the floor-boards the same fresh-water leavings and débris.
1975 Islander (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 7 Sept. 4/2 They [sc. whales] travel in schools in the eastern Pacific, followed by yellow-fin tuna which feed on their leavings.
2010 J. O'Connor Ghost Light (2011) x. 160 The shilling eked from the housekeeping and hidden away, the leavings reheated, the silences over supper.
2. The action of leave v.1 (in various senses); (also) an instance of this.card-leaving, early-leaving, school-leaving, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > [noun] > leaving undone
omissionc1400
leavinga1425
omittingc1450
pretermission1581
upsitting1680
defalcation1750
balking1783
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > [noun] > deserting a person or thing
forsakingc1320
leaving1526
desertion1591
relinquishment1593
deserting1646
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > [noun]
departing?c1225
partingc1300
withdrawingc1315
departc1330
wendingc1330
outpassinga1387
goinga1400
discessc1425
departisona1450
departmentc1450
going awayc1450
departition1470
departurec1515
recess1531
avoidance1563
parture1567
waygate1575
departance1579
exit1596
remotion1608
voiding1612
recession1630
recedence1641
recede1649
partment1663
recedure1712
leaving1719
off-going1727
quittance1757
departal1823
pull-out1825
pull-awaya1829
society > travel > aspects of travel > departure, leaving, or going away > [noun]
departing?c1225
partingc1300
departc1330
wendingc1330
going-outc1350
goinga1400
discessc1425
departisona1450
departmentc1450
departition1470
departurec1515
recess1531
avoidance1563
parture1567
waygate1575
departance1579
remotion1608
voiding1612
recede1649
partment1663
leaving1719
off-going1727
quittance1757
departal1823
waying1922
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 350 For leevyng of dedis of charite shulde he noþing be blamed.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 334 (MED) I do þis to make me mor..sad when I parte with þaim, at my mede may be þe mor for þe levyng of þaim.
1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 212 A Lefynge, omissio.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Hvii Nat carnally vnderstandyng this rewarde for them, for the leauyng of one wyfe thou shuldest haue a hundred wyues.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 38 And yet yf he lefte yt vnsayde he shulde synne more greuosly, what shall he then do syth he synneth bothe in the doyng, & in the leueynge.
c1626 A. Garden Theatre Sc. Worthies (1878) 132 The leaving of your land To..the past nought wnrecompenst.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 27 Never..suffer them to begin their Scafflings in the morning, but before their leaving of their work.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 92 They..went on by Ways of their own leaving.
1792 R. Burn & J. Burn New Law Dict. II. 51 The statute..hath a clause that extends to prevent the leaving of such persons abroad, as are thus kidnapped, or spirited away.
1834 W. F. Napier Hist. War Peninsula IV. xiv. ii. 134 His leaving of Mr. Stuart without instructions.
1861 R. C. Trench Comm. Epist. 7 Churches Asia 77 This leaving of the first love can refer to the abating of any other love.
1908 Lady R. Churchill Reminisc. (1973) iii. 44 The writing of ceremonious notes, the leaving of cards,..took up most afternoons.
1932 U.S. Dept. Agric. Farmer's Bull. No. 1215 12 The most important requirement is the leaving of abundant stores for the bees.
1952 Arena (N.Z.) 31 14 The leaving open of all doors and windows..often lets in innumerable small beasties.
1980 S. W. Martins Great Estate at Work iv. 124 The estate was..sorry at the prospect of his leaving.
2003 S. Munnery in M. Hardee & J. Fleming Sit-down Comedy 23 The interim period between the leaving of one head of department and the arrival of the next.
Compounds
C1. With adverbs, in compound nouns of action corresponding to adverbial combinations of leave, as leaving-off, leaving-out, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ceasing > [noun]
lissc1000
ceasec1330
stintc1330
stinting1338
ceasinga1340
discontinuancea1398
cessationa1400
leaving-off?a1425
surceasingc1435
disusage1475
stop1483
staying1546
discontinuation1572
discontinuing1582
surcease1590
stintance1605
cessure1607
desisting1607
avocationa1617
desistance1632
sistencea1639
surceasementa1641
supersession1648
dispractice1673
breaking-off1683
estoppage1701
cess1703
cesser1809
shutdown1857
stoppage1865
shut-off1889
sign-off1919
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 107v (MED) Gluttrie, dronkenez..leuyng of [?c1425 Paris levynge; L. omissio] of excercise..makeþ numerable podagrez.
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 198 (MED) Þou biddist alle good dedis..and her contrarie yuelis and her leevingis of, þou forbedist.
1657 W. Prynne Exact Abridgem. Rec. Tower of London 585 The King..appointeth..that within one moneth after the death, or leaving over of any such Alderman, there be appointed to them one other Alderman to supply the same.
1662 R. Boyle Def. Doctr. Spring & Weight of Air ii. ii. 31 It seems precariously affirm'd, that there is such a successive leaving behind of one Surface after another as is here imagin'd.
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 Jan. (1948) I. 164 Upon Steele's leaving off, there were two or three scrub Tatlers came out.
1851 J. R. Ballantyne Tarka-sangraha of Annam Bhaṭṭa 74 Desire and Aversion are indicated by those same [commencings and leavings off].
1862 Jrnl. Bath & West of Eng. Soc. for Agric. 10 342 The leaving over of the land in rough furrow throughout the winter.
1905 Official Gaz. E. Afr. & Uganda Protectorates 1 Oct. 303 In the event of a porter falling sick and being unable to travel, he shall be carried to the nearest station, even though doing so should necessitate the leaving behind of loads.
2000 W. M. Johnston Encycl. Monasticism I. 647/2 This change of clothing symbolized leaving off of the ways of the world and adopting a new lifestyle.
C2.
a. General attributive, esp. with reference to leaving school or college (see Compounds 2b), or employment, as leaving party, leaving present, etc.
ΚΠ
1909 Electr. Rev. 13 Aug. 244/2 It is no uncommon occurrence for a junior assistant, getting, perhaps, 30s. a week, to be asked to contribute towards a leaving present for a man be has never spoken to, with five or six times the salary.
1920 Boston Sunday Globe 4 Jan. When a man severs his connection with the concern he signs a leaving card which is also sent to the Federal office.
1926 Studies 15 38 He was told off to make the ‘leaving speech’ at the annual school-closing ceremony.
1931 Times 13 July 15/2 Mr. F. W. Dobbs's leaving dinner took place at the Savoy Hotel on Friday.
1968 Financial Times 16 Nov. 11 (advt.) A pub's the best place for a party—any party... A leaving-party or a joining-party.
1989 in R. Graef Talking Blues x. 311 We don't even have leaving do's any more, or if we do, you make sure someone there at least is not drinking.
1993 Jrnl. Design Hist. 6 107/2 The Chancellor was advised by officials not to attend Worboys' leaving dinner.
2008 Express (Nexis) 6 Dec. 23 The previous day he'd signed a leaving card for a girl who was moving on.
b.
leaving certificate n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > lack of work > [noun] > redundancy > card given to redundant employees
leaving certificate1871
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > school examinations > certificates
passing certificate1787
School Certificate1835
leaving certificate1871
School Cert1926
advanced level1947
matric1947
ordinary level1947
scholarship level1947
O level1949
S level1951
ordinary grade1959
Certificate of Secondary Education1961
O grade1962
GCSE1978
1871 Standard 17 May 3/3 The latter plan, that of ‘leaving certificates,’ seems to find pretty general favour at Cambridge.
1914 ‘I. Hay’ Lighter Side School Life i. 24 Oxford and Cambridge Locals..or, in Scotland, the Leaving Certificate.
1923 J. D. Hackett in Management Engin. May Leaving Certificate, a card given to laid-off employees, entitling them to consideration when work is resumed.
1963 J. Fountain in B. James Austral. Short Stories 275 Brilliant passes in the Intermediate and Leaving Certificate examinations.
2005 Kerryman 11 Aug. 12/2 The Leaving Certificate results are out next week.
leaving examination n.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > school examinations
entrance examination1819
entrance exam1857
standard1862
skew1866
leaving examination1868
Oxford1871
entry exam1886
Abitur1918
higher1923
scholarship1950
A level1951
C.S.E.1963
international baccalaureate1966
A1979
Certificate of Secondary Education1981
AS1984
STEP1985
SAT1988
A21999
1868 Times 2 Mar. 9/5 The ‘leaving examination’ includes German, French, mathematics,..and divinity.
1910 Board of Educ.: Rep. 1908–9 56 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 5130) XXII. 541 Upon..the passing of the necessary leaving examination, two alternative courses are immediately open to him.
1984 P. Horn Changing Countryside 164 Earlier full-time employment was legally possible only for those who could pass an appropriate leaving examination.
2014 D. Lim Econ. Growth & Employment Vietnam x. 127 The Leaving Examination includes six subjects.
leaving scholarship n.
ΚΠ
1876 N. Wales Chron. 4 Mar. 7/1 It was resolved, on the proposal of the headmaster, to institute four leaving scholarships of £25 a year.
1904 Brit. Friend Aug. 239/1 A proposal to start an Old Leightonians' Leaving Scholarship in connection with the School.
1966 F. Musgrove Family, Educ. & Society ii. 20 Many well endowed schools..might offer free boarding facilities, leaving scholarships and grants to pay apprenticeship premiums.
2010 East Kent Gaz. (Nexis) 29 Sept. 12 Governors gave leaving scholarships of £75 to pupils from Year 13 who made a positive contribution to the life of the school and achieved two As and two Bs or higher at A level.
C3.
leaving age n. the age at which a pupil is legally entitled to leave school for good.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > [noun] > specific age
yearOE
scorea1400
seventeena1568
threescorea1616
jubileea1640
military age1656
legal age1658
tecnogoniaa1676
sixty1717
forty1732
fifty1738
seven-year-old1762
teen1789
septuagenarianism1824
sexagenarianism1824
day-old1831
seventeen-year-old1858
centenarianism1863
roaring forties1867
twenties1874
leaving age1875
school-leaving age1881
octogenarianism1883
reading age1906
three1909
teenage1912
eleven-plus1937
society > education > educational administration > school administration > [noun] > school leaving age
leaving age1875
school-leaving age1881
1875 Wellingtonian Feb. 265/1 The first article..is an appeal to the authorities to keep the leaving age at sixteen instead of fifteen.
1943 J. Graves Policy & Progress Secondary Educ. xix. 125 The curriculum would vary according to the normal leaving age and the different interests and abilities of the children.
1972 G. Friel Mr. Alfred M. A. xxiv. 159 I'm telling you, it will be hell let loose when they raise the leaving-age.
2007 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 25 Mar. (Seven Days section) 3/2 The thinking behind the raising of the leaving age is to prevent young people..disappearing into a limbo of No Education, Employment or Training.
leaving book n. (at Eton College) a book presented by friends on the occasion of a pupil's leaving for good.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > kind of book > [noun] > books intended as gifts or prizes
presentation copy1753
prize book1798
souvenir1798
reward book1801
leaving book1829
gift-book1834
the mind > possession > giving > gift or present > [noun] > parting gift > on leaving school
leaving book1829
1829 Standard 15 June And here he is, oh! only look! In red and gold, like a leaving book.
1878 J. A. Symonds Shelley 15 His Oxford rooms were full of handsome leaving books, and..he was frequently visited by old Etonian acquaintances.
1917 Everybody's Mag. Nov. 29/1 Mr. Lasky was a bright-faced lad who, in ordinary circumstances, might have been looking forward to his leaving-book from Eton.
1940 ‘H. Green’ Pack my Bag 194 I went at the end to get my leaving book from the headmaster.
2004 A. Blond Jew made in Eng. ii. vii. 75 I met Mr Elliott again when he signed, in Latin, my leaving book.
leaving-off time n. the regular time of stopping work for part or all of the day.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > times or periods of work > [noun] > stopping work > stopping time
upwark15..
leaving-off time1834
quitting time1835
knocking-off1883
shutting-up time1889
knock-off time1899
thirty1929
1834 Agric. & Industr. Mag. 1 Oct. 153/2 At ‘leaving off time,’—take your stand by a large ‘gin shop’..and see the poor overworked, forlorn, emaciated ‘Factory girl’ of nine years old.
1886 Jrnl. Hort., Cottage Gardener & Home Farmer 25 Mar. 226/1 Be ready to act upon the temperature upon any change in the weather between leaving off time and the final banking up at ten o'clock.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 26 Aug. 10/2 It is the usual practice at leaving-off time on Saturdays for the workmen..to cease work at once.
2012 D. Mendoza Fate & Fatalities iv. xxii. 157 Neither did the meetings cease at dinner or leaving off time.
leaving-out n. somewhat rare (a) the action or an instance of leaving something out; (b) something left out, omitted matter.Numerous uses are ambiguous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being exclusive > [noun] > exclusion from a category, etc. > non-inclusion or omission > that which is
leaving-out1584
balk1596
omission1621
left-out1878
1584 D. Fenner Artes of Logike & Rethorike ii. i. sig. C The ordering of reasons..sometimes is altered by additions, leauinges out, or displacing of anie thing.
1643 R. Hodges Special Help Orthogr. 22 In such words.., custom hath already given way, for the leaving out of e in the end.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 245 He may perhaps Get a small Word..into the foregoing Line; and..another..in the following Line, which if his Leaving out is not much, may Get it in.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XI. 508/1 The mind, by leaving out of the particular colours perceived by sense that which distinguishes them one from another,..makes an idea of colour in abstract.
1913 Smart Set July 156/2 Matthew leaves out the shepherds and the manger, Luke leaves out the wise men... But these leavings out are not nearly so irritating as Mr. Page's impertinent puttings in.
1923 F. M. Ford in Spectator Lit. Suppl. 17 Nov. 744/2 It then becomes a matter of selection... His leavings-out are as matchless as are his inclusions.
1932 Kerrville (Texas) Mountain Sun 6 Oct. 4/3 You hold your copy off at arm's length and squint at it to see if there is any more devilish slyness you can safely achieve by leavings out or puttings in.
2002 S. Lundquist in C. Rankine & J. Spahr Amer. Women Poets in 21st Cent. 193 One poem is luxuriously dense, the next minimal and irradiated by white spaces, profuse ‘leavings out’.
leaving shop n. slang (now historical) an unlicensed pawnshop.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [noun] > pawnshop > unlicensed
leaving shop1842
1842 Morning Chron. 27 Oct. Sir Peter Laurie asked what a leaving shop was. Mr. Ashurt said it was a mongrel pawnbroker.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend I. ii. xii. 267 She was an unlicensed pawnbroker, keeping what was popularly called a Leaving Shop, by lending insignificant sums on insignificant articles of property deposited with her as security.
1888 Spectator 7 July 942 The ‘leaving-shop’, or illicit pawnbroker, almost frustrates attempts at protective legislation for the poor.
1953 Economica 20 18 There were at least 500-600 ‘leaving shops’ in the poorer districts of London.
2015 C. Wood Dickens & Business of Death iv. 133 Pleasant Riderhood operates a Leaving Shop and boarding house that holds the bodies of sailors, and pawned possessions that appear haunted by their former owners.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1340