let \let\, v. t. imp.  p. p. let letted le^t"te^d,
   obs.; p. pr.  vb. n. letting. oe. leten, laeten
   past tense lat, let, p. p. laten, leten, lete, as.
   l=aetan past tense l=et, p. p. l=aeten; akin to
   ofries. l=eta, os. l=atan, d. laten, g. lassen, ohg.
   l=azzan, icel. l=ata, sw. lata, dan. lade, goth.
   l=etan, and l. lassus weary. the original meaning seems to
   have been, to let loose, let go, let drop. cf. alas,
   late, lassitude, let to hinder.
   1. to leave; to relinquish; to abandon. obs. or archaic,
      except when followed by alone or be.
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            he . . . prayed him his voyage for to let.
                                                  --chaucer.
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            yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets,
            but to her mother nature all her care she lets.
                                                  --spenser.
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            let me alone in choosing of my wife.  --chaucer.
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   2. to consider; to think; to esteem. obs. --chaucer.
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   3. to cause; to make; -- used with the infinitive in the
      active form but in the passive sense; as, let make, i. e.,
      cause to be made; let bring, i. e., cause to be brought.
      obs.
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            this irous, cursed wretch
            let this knight's son anon before him fetch.
                                                  --chaucer.
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            he . . . thus let do slay hem all three. --chaucer.
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            anon he let two coffers make.         --gower.
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   4. to permit; to allow; to suffer; -- either affirmatively,
      by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain
      or prevent.
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   note: in this sense, when followed by an infinitive, the
         latter is commonly without the sign to; as to let us
         walk, i. e., to permit or suffer us to walk. sometimes
         there is entire omission of the verb; as, to let to be
         or to go loose.
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               pharaoh said, i will let you go.   --ex. viii.
                                                  28.
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               if your name be horatio, as i am let to know it
               is.                                --shak.
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   5. to allow to be used or occupied for a compensation; to
      lease; to rent; to hire out; -- often with out; as, to let
      a farm; to let a house; to let out horses.
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   6. to give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or
      contract; -- often with out; as, to let the building of a
      bridge; to let out the lathing and the plastering.
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   note: the active form of the infinitive of let, as of many
         other english verbs, is often used in a passive sense;
         as, a house to let i. e., for letting, or to be let.
         this form of expression conforms to the use of the
         anglo-saxon gerund with to dative infinitive which
         was commonly so employed. see gerund, 2. " your
         elegant house in harley street is to let." --thackeray.
         in the imperative mood, before the first person plural,
         let has a hortative force. " rise up, let us go."
         --mark xiv. 42. " let us seek out some desolate shade."
         --shak.
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   to let alone, to leave; to withdraw from; to refrain from
      interfering with.

   to let blood, to cause blood to flow; to bleed.

   to let down.
      a to lower.
      b to soften in tempering; as, to let down tools,
          cutlery, and the like.

   to let fly or to let drive, to discharge with violence,
      as a blow, an arrow, or stone. see under drive, and
      fly.

   to let in or to let into.
      a to permit or suffer to enter; to admit.
      b to insert, or imbed, as a piece of wood, in a recess
          formed in a surface for the purpose.

   to let loose, to remove restraint from; to permit to wander
      at large.

   to let off.
      a to discharge; to let fly, as an arrow; to fire the
          charge of, as a gun.
      b to release, as from an engagement or obligation.
          colloq.

   to let out.
      a to allow to go forth; as, to let out a prisoner.
      b to extend or loosen, as the folds of a garment; to
          enlarge; to suffer to run out, as a cord.
      c to lease; to give out for performance by contract, as
          a job.
      d to divulge.

   to let slide, to let go; to cease to care for. colloq. "
      let the world slide." --shak.
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see also:
let letted letting alas late lassitude 
gerund to let alone to let blood to let down to let fly 
to let drive drive fly to let in to let into 
to let loose to let off to let out to let slide 

loose \loose\ l=oos, a. compar. looser l=oos"~er;
   superl. loosest. oe. loos, lous, laus, icel. lauss; akin
   to od. loos, d. los, as. le'as false, deceitful, g. los,
   loose, dan.  sw. l"os, goth. laus, and e. lose. root127.
   see lose, and cf. leasing falsehood.
   1. unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed,
      or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.
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            her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat.
                                                  --shak.
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   2. free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty,
      habit, etc.; -- with from or of.
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            now i stand
            loose of my vow; but who knows cato's thoughts ?
                                                  --addison.
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   3. not tight or close; as, a loose garment.
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   4. not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of
      loose texture.
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            with horse and chariots ranked in loose array.
                                                  --milton.
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   5. not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose
      style, or way of reasoning.
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            the comparison employed . . . must be considered
            rather as a loose analogy than as an exact
            scientific explanation.               --whewel.
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   6. not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to
      some standard of right.
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            the loose morality which he had learned. --sir w.
                                                  scott.
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   7. unconnected; rambling.
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            vario spends whole mornings in running over loose
            and unconnected pages.                --i. watts.
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   8. lax; not costive; having lax bowels. --locke.
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   9. dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.
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            loose ladies in delight.              --spenser.
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   10. containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language;
       as, a loose epistle. --dryden.
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   at loose ends, not in order; in confusion; carelessly
      managed.

   fast and loose. see under fast.

   to break loose. see under break.

   loose pulley. mach. see fast and loose pulleys, under
      fast.

   to let loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set
      at liberty.
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see also:
looser loosest lose leasing at loose ends fast and loose 
fast to break loose break loose pulley fast and loose pulleys 
to let loose