French leave
A departure taken quietly and unnoticed, without asking for permission or informing anyoneA departure taken quietly and unnoticed, without asking for permission or informing anyone.
Meaning
2 senses(dated, idiomatic, informal, uncountable)A departure taken quietly and unnoticed, without asking for permission or informing anyone.
französischer Abschied, grußloser Abschied, heimliche Abfahrt etc., einen Polnischen machen
ухо́д по-англи́йскиuxód po-anglíjski
an abrupt and unannounced departure (without saying farewell)
(dated, euphemistic, idiomatic, informal, specifically, uncountable)Desertion or temporary absence from duty or service without permission; absence without leave, AWOL.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From French (adjective) + leave (noun), apparently from a French custom, already recordedFrom French (adjective) + leave (noun), apparently from a French custom, already recorded in the 18th century, of leaving from receptions or other events without formally announcing one’s departure to the host or hostess. Compare Spanish irse a la francesa and Portuguese sair à francesa (“go in the French manner”) but also the otherwise ubiquitous attribution of this behaviour to the English as with French filer à l’anglaise (“leave in the English manner”), Italian filarsela all'inglese, Polish wyjść po angielsku, etc.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Synonyms
4 synonymsWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable