Definition
An archaic Law French term meaning "to let" or "to permit." Encountered primarily in early English legal records and argument, *laiser* functioned as a verb indicating the act of allowing, leaving, or releasing — concepts foundational to the leasing of property, the abandonment of a right, or the permitting of an act. It is not a term of art in modern legal usage and survives only as a historical remnant in the corpus of Law French vocabulary embedded in early common law sources.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working in early English case reports, Year Books, or plea rolls will encounter Law French vocabulary with some regularity. *Laiser* appears in argument, not in formal pleading or judgment language, which means it is more likely to surface in reported colloquy or counsel's speech than in enrolled records. Its meaning is narrow and consistent — "to let" — but the context in which it appears may carry legal weight: whether the letting refers to a lease, a license, a release of claim, or mere passive permission will depend entirely on surrounding text.
The single Burrill citation points to 3 Leonard 134 in argument, suggesting this was already a term requiring explanation even in the late sixteenth century. Researchers should not assume that *laiser* maps cleanly onto any single modern legal concept. "To let" in Law French legal usage could shade into leasing (*laisser à ferme*), abandonment, or permissive inaction — distinctions that matter when reconstructing the legal theory of an early case.
Law French terms of this type are also susceptible to orthographic variation in manuscript and early printed sources. Variant spellings (*lesser*, *laisser*, *leiser*) may appear depending on the scribe, the printer, or the period. Cross-referencing against Kelham's *Dictionary of the Norman or Old French Language* and Tomlin's *Law Dictionary* entries on related leasing terms is advisable when the precise legal function of the word is at issue.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's entry is minimal: "L. Fr. To let. 3 Leon. 134, arg." This is consistent with Burrill's treatment of Law French particles and verbs, which he typically defines by translation rather than legal analysis. The citation to Leonard's Reports confirms the term's appearance in Elizabethan-era legal argument, grounding it in the common law tradition rather than civilian or ecclesiastical usage.
No elaboration appears in Burrill beyond the bare translation, and the term does not appear to have received extended treatment in the major English legal dictionaries — Cowell, Blount, Termes de la Ley, or Jacob — suggesting it was understood as ordinary French vocabulary pressed into legal service rather than a term requiring specialized legal definition. This absence is itself informative: *laiser* was likely transparent to legal practitioners of the period who retained working familiarity with Law French, and it became a dictionary entry only as that familiarity faded.