leet

Etymology 1

From Scots leet, leit, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old French lite, litte, variant of liste (“list”); or from Old Norse leiti, hleyti (“a share, portion”) (compare Old English hlēte (“share, lot”)); or an aphaeretic shortening of French élite.

noun

1. (Scotland) A portion or list, especially a list of candidates for an office; also the candidates themselves.

Etymology 2

From Old English lēt, past tense of lǣtan (“to let”).

verb

1. (obsolete) simple past of let

Etymology 3

Originated 1400–50 from late Middle English lete (“meeting”), from Anglo-Norman lete and Medieval Latin leta (Anglo-Latin), possibly from Old English ġelǣte (“crossroads”).

noun

1. (Britain, obsolete) A regular court, more specifically a court-leet, in which certain lords had jurisdiction over local disputes, or the physical area of this jurisdiction.

Etymology 4

Jamieson mentions the alternative spellings lyth, lythe, laid, and laith, and connects it to a verb lythe (“to shelter”), as it "is frequently caught ... in deep holes among the rocks".

noun

1. (UK) The European pollock.
   The whiting pollock sometimes, par excellence is styled pollock only. On the Yorkshire coast it is called a leet, and in Scotland a lythe. 1854, William Hughes, A Practical Treatise on the Choice and Cookery of Fish, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, page 27

Etymology 5

table From Middle English lete, from Old English ġelǣt, ġelǣte, from Proto-Germanic *galētą, *lētą. More at leat.

noun

1. (obsolete) A place where roads meet or cross; intersection
2. Alternative form of leat (“watercourse”)

Etymology 6

An aphetic form of elite, respelled according to leetspeak conventions.

noun

1. (Internet slang, dated) Abbreviation of leetspeak.

adj

1. Of or relating to leetspeak.
2. (slang) Possessing outstanding skill in a field; expert, masterful.
3. (slang) Having superior social rank over others; upper class, elite.
4. (slang) Awesome, typically to describe a feat of skill; cool, sweet.
   Powered by leetness! You can have the leetest hardware imaginable in your gaming rig, but it won't matter if you run it with a cheap power supply. 2006, Maximum PC (Autumn, page 26)