▪ I. leap, n.1
(liːp)
Forms: 1 hl{yacu}p, 3 lupe (ǖ), leope, leep(e, (lip), 4–6 lepe, 6–7 leape, 6– leap.
[OE. hl{yacu}p, Anglian *hlép str. masc.:—OTeut. type *hlaupi-z, corresponds (apart from declension) to OFris. (bec-)hlêp, Du. loop, OHG. hlouf (MHG. louf, mod.Ger. lauf), ON. hlaup neut. (Da. l{obar}b, Sw. löp- in compounds); f. root of leap v.]
1. a. An act of leaping; a springing from the ground or other standing-place; a bound, jump, spring.
| a 900 Cynewulf Crist 747 (Gr.) Swa we men sculon heortan ᵹehyᵹdum hlypum styllan. c 1230 Hali Meid. 23 A muche lupe duneward. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 55 And forto make þat good he lepe ouer þe wal at oo leepe. a 1400–50 Alexander 1761 Þou..maa þi lepis & þi laikis & quat þe liste ellis, As ratons or ruȝe myse in a rowme chambre. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3436 He at a leep was at hir and hir kyste. c 1450 Merlin 142 It is grete nede a man to go bak to recouer the better his leep. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iii. v, The herte lepte a grete lepe. 1573 Baret Alv. L. 204 A leap or jump. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 184 They spring away with most stupendious leaps. 1700 Wallis in Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 318 Mr. Bosely [was] observed..to have leaped, at six continued leaps, one and twenty yards, three quarters and some odd inches. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 223 ¶4 Those who had taken this Leap were observed never to relapse into that Passion. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 322 It sometimes happens, however, that they [salmon] want strength to make the leap. 1825 Sporting Mag. XV. 346 Our elders took leaps, now they are all jumps. 1833 Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 61 For the ‘Standing Leap’, bring the horse up to the bar at an animated walk... For the ‘Flying Leap’, the horse must not be hurried. 1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle L. i. 7 The spot..from whence the Mameluke..took the famous leap on horseback. |
b. transf. and
fig. esp. An abrupt movement or change; a sudden transition. Also with an
adv., as
leap-up.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 264 De saltu lunæ... Þæt is ðæs monan hlyp for þan þe he oferhlypð ænne dæᵹ. a 1225 Ancr. R. 48 Þe heorte is a ful wilde best, and makeð monie wilde lupes, as Seint Gregorie seið, ‘nichil corde fugacius’. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 72 Ful light of lepes has thou bene ay. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1767 And for-þi, sonë, wole I make a leepe ffrom hem [stories], and go wole I to þe empryse þat I first took. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. (1807–8) IV. 653 Leaving the lord lieutenant for a while, we will give a little leape to actions of manhood against the enimie. 1592 Bacon Observ. Libel Wks. 1826 V. 412 One Barrow..made a leap from a vain and libertine youth, to a preciseness in the highest degree. 1661 Feltham Resolves ii. xxviii. (ed. 8) 238 'Tis justly matter of amazement, for a man in the leap of the one, or in the tumble of either of these, to retain a mind unaltered. 1701 Swift Contests Nobles & Comm. iii. Miscell. (1711) 41 Thus in a very few Years the Commons proceeded so far as to wrest the Power of chusing a King intirely out of the Hands of the Nobles; which was so great a Leap..that [etc.]. 1856 Grindon Life i. (1875) 7 The leap of the stamens of the Kalmia from their niches in the corolla. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xi. 289 The boulders and débris..came in frequent leaps and rushes down the precipice. 1875 Dowden Shakspere 86 The energy, the leap-up, the direct advance of the will of Helena. 1885 Fairbairn Catholicism 89 Every attempt..to discover method and progress in creation, without leap or gap, violence or interference..was [etc.]. |
c. Phrases.
a leap in the dark: a hazardous action undertaken in uncertainty as to the consequences.
by leaps,
by leaps and bounds: by sudden transitions; used
esp. to express startling rapidity of advance or increase;
leap forward: an advance of a marked or notable character.
| 1698 Vanbrugh Prov. Wife v. vi, Go, now I am in for Hobbe's Voyage: a great Leap in the Dark. 1720 Pope tr. Homer's Iliad V. xxi. 1587 High o'er the surging Tide, by Leaps and Bounds, He wades, and mounts; the parted Wave resounds. 1721 De Foe Moll Flanders (1840) 75 Make matrimony, like death, a leap in the dark. 1851 Nichol Archit. Heav. 154 The telescope, in passing through it [the Milky Way], often goes by leaps from one cumulus to another. 1867 Ld. Derby in Hansard Parl. Deb. Ser. iii. CLXXXIX. 952 No doubt we are making a great experiment, and ‘taking a leap in the dark’. 1885 Illustr. Lond. News 8 Aug. 143/2 Electricity has been advanced ‘by leaps and bounds’. 1891 Gladstone in Star 11 Dec. 2/5, I shall proceed by skips and jumps; or, as it is the fashion to say now, by leaps and bounds. 1915 Mrs. Belloc Lowndes Let. 10 Mar. (1971) 57 Everything is going up, in price, by leaps and bounds. 1940 By leaps and bounds [see double v. 4 c]. 1947 By leaps and bounds [see Afrikanerizing vbl. n. and ppl. a.]. 1954 T. S. Eliot Confid. Clerk ii. 63, I make decisions on the spur of the moment, But you'd never take a leap in the dark. 1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 170 The convention..would amount to a great ‘leap forward’ towards a virtual European federation. 1966 Performing Right Oct. 4 The leap forward of nearly 20 per cent in this revenue is a triumph for the skill and hard work of our administrative staff. 1973 Times 21 Mar. (China Trade Suppl.) p. xi/2 The back⁓yard steel furnaces that sprang up during the Great Leap Forward (1958–60). |
2. a. A leaping-place; something to be leaped over or from. Also, the place or distance leaped.
Frequent in place-names, as
Deerleap,
Hindlip,
Smuggler's Leap,
Lover's Leap.
| c 1205 Lay. 1928 Nu..haueð þat clif þare nome on ælche leode þat þæt weos Geomagoges lupe. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xiii. 56 Halfe a myle fra Nazareth es þe leep þat oure Lord leped fra þe Iews. 1539 Dere leapes [see deer 4 b]. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. i. 139 You take a Precepit for no leape of danger, And woe your owne destruction. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables lvii. 57 After they have carry'd their Riders safe over All Leaps. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 223 ¶4 This Place was therefore called The Lover's Leap. 1791 G. Gambado Ann. Horsem. vi. (1809) 90 The soil is pretty stiff, the leaps large and frequent. 1818 J. Lawrence Brit. Field Sports 410 He ran his Horse at a Leap, which every one else in the Field refused. |
b. salmon leap, a precipitous fall in a river (either natural or contrived artificially) over which salmon leap in ascending the river for breeding.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 369 In Irlond beeþ þre samoun lepes. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 220 They [salmon] are taken at leapes. 1780 A. Young Tour in Ireland i. 126 All the fisheries are his to the leap at Colraine. |
3. Of animals: The action of leaping (the female).
| 1607 Markham Caval. i. (1617) 38 [They] being desirous to get into good races, are fayne to get leapes for their Mares, either by courtesie, bribes, or stealth. 1697 Dryden æneid vi. 36 The rushing leap, the doubtful progeny. 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4428/16 A Dapple Grey Horse..to be had for a Guinea a Leap. |
| transf. 1616 B. Jonson Devil an Ass iii. iii. (1631) 124 Meercraft..could you ha'..Beene satisfied with a leape o' your Host's daughter. 1632 Massinger City Madam iv. ii, I well know him For a most insatiate drabber. He hath given, Before he spent his own estate..A hundred pound a leap. |
4. The sudden fall of a river to a lower level.
| 1796 Statist. Acc. Scotl. XVII. 611 Where the Esk..forms a linn or leap. 1809 A. Henry Trav. 16 The Sault de Saint-Louis..is highest of the saults, falls, or leaps, in this part of the Saint-Lawrence. 1843 Ruskin Mod. Paint. I. ii. v. iii. §22 The quiet stream is a succession of leaps and pools. 1872 Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (ed. 6) 286 The water makes five or six leaps in its descent. |
† 5. An alleged name for a ‘company’ of leopards.
Obs.| 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj b, A Lepe of Lebardis. |
6. Mining. A fault or dislocation of strata.
a leap up or
leap down, one caused by upheaval or sinking of the strata.
| 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict., Leap..is when the Vein is thrown of from its perpendicular Course, at once into the Side; these Leaps never happen, but at some Wayboard, or large Bed-joynt. 1855 Cornwall 109 Vertical Intersections.—These are commonly called leaps, or throws. 1874 J. H. Collins Metal Mining Gloss. s.v. Fault. If [the displacement of strata is] upwards, a leap or upthrow; if downwards, a slide or downthrow. |
7. Mus. A passing from one note to another by an interval greater than a degree of the scale.
| 1674 Playford Skill Mus. i. xi. 45 By the taking of the greater Sixth that falls by a leap. 1811 Busby Dict. Mus. (ed. 3), Leaps, this word is properly applicable to any disjunct degree, but is generally used to signify a distance consisting of several intermediate intervals. 1889 E. Prout Harmony (ed. 10) vi. §164 A second inversion may be approached either by leap..or by step..from the root position of another chord. |
8. Comb.:
leap-Christian (see
quot.);
† leap-month, February of leap year;
leap-ore, ‘the most inferior quality of tin ore’ (
Cent. Dict.);
leap pease, ? parched-peas;
leap second [after
leap day], a second which on a particular occasion is inserted into (or omitted from) a scale of reckoning time in order to bring it into correspondence with another scale;
† leap-skip a. (
nonce-wd.), applied to the knight's move in chess;
† leap-staff, a leaping-pole. Also
leap day,
leap year.
| 1647 Trapp Comm. Ep. & Rev. App. 684 *Leap-Christians are not so much to be liked, that all on the sudden, of notorious profane become extremely precise and scrupulous. |
| 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. IV. 36 The *leape moneth, which is February. 1648–60 Hexham Dutch Dict., De Schrickelmoendt, the Leape-month. |
| 1620 Markham Farew. Husb. (1625) 137 The field Pease..are onely for boyling and making of *leape Pease, or parching. |
| 1971 Nature 11 June 345/1 An adjustment will be made to all GMT time signal emissions on January 1, 1972, so that a GMT time of o h o m o s will correspond exactly to an IAT time of o h o m 10 s; thereafter ‘*leap seconds’ will be inserted or omitted as necessary at the end of a particular GMT month... From then on, GMT will always be exactly 10 s slow compared with IAT. A so-called positive leap second will begin at 23 h 59 m 60 s on the last day of the month selected and end at o h o m o s on the first day of the next month; by contrast, if the leap second is negative, 23 h 59 m 58 s will be followed one second later by o h o m o s. 1972 Daily Tel. 28 Dec. 10/2 Shortly before 11 p.m. on Sunday (4 a.m. New Year's Day in Britain) technicians at the United States National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, will add one leap second to America's atomic clock to correct it to match the Earth's rotation. 1973 Nature 21/28 Dec. 444/1 Currently, the Earth loses about 3 ms a day on Atomic Time, and the leap seconds are added where necessary..to keep ut and Atomic Time in close correspondence. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Fam. Ep. Wks. (1711) 146 The lady..is..inhibited from the *leap-skip bound of the knights. |
| c 1626 Dick of Devon. iv. iii. in Bullen O. Pl. II. 78 One with a *leape staffe may leape over it. |
▪ II. leap, n.2 (
liːp)
Forms: 1
léap, 3–6
lep(e, 4–5
leep(e, 6–7
leape, 7–
leap;
dial. 5
leippe, 7–8
lib, 8
lip, 9
lep(e.
[OE. léap str. masc. = ON. laup-r (MSw. löper).] 1. A basket. Now
dial. Cf. seed-lip.
| c 1000 Wulfstan Hom., De Confessione (Napier) 293 Ða bær man up of ðan ðe hi læfdon twelf leapas fulle. a 1250 Owl & Night. 359 Theȝ thu nime evere oth than lepe. a 1300 Cursor M. 4486 A lepe..Wit bred þat i bar on mi heued. Ibid. 19719 In a lep men lete him dun Vte ouer þe walles o þe tun. 1388 Wyclif Exod. ii. 3 Thanne sche took a leep of segge..and puttide the ȝong child with ynne. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) V. 195 Moyses thabbot.. toke a lepe fulle of gravelle on his backe. 1495–6 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 653 Pro leippez et Scotellez pro granario. 1530 Palsgr. 238/2 Lepe or a basket, corbeille. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 23 The other leape is to putte the worst lockes of wooll into. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Lep, lepe, a large deep basket. |
† b. Used locally as a measure; in Sussex, according to Ray, half a bushel. ?
Obs.| 1277 Extent Manor of Cerring, Suss. in Du Cange s.v. Lepa, Et colliget de nucibus in bosco comini tertiam partem unius mensuræ, quæ vocatur Lepe, quod est tertia pars 2 bussellorum, et valet quadrantem. 1674 Ray S. & E.C. Words 70 A Leap or Lib; Suss. Half a bushel. |
2. A basket in which to catch or keep fish.
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 167/14 Nassa, boᵹenet, uel leap. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5352 In lepes & in coufles so moche viss hii ssolleþ hom bringe þat ech mon ssal wondry of so gret cacchinge. 1382 Wyclif Job xl. 26 Whether thou shalt fille nettis with his skyn, and the lep [1388 leep] of fisshis with the hed of hym? c 1440 Promp. Parv. 297/1 Leep, for fysshe kepynge, or takynge, nassa. 1481–90 Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 363 Item..for makenge of lepes and othir gere for the kechyn to kepe ynne eles ij. s. ix. d. 1530 Palsgr. 287/2 Welle or lepe for fysshe, bouticle. 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 7 [No person shal take] in..any wele..lepe..or by any other engyne..the yonge frye..of any kynde of Salmon. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 218 Weaving them close together..after the maner of a fishers leape or weele net. 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 172 The Osier..is of especiall use for..fishermen for making Leaps & instruments to catch fish in. 1873 Act 36 & 37 Vict. c. 71 §15 Except wheels or leaps for taking lamperns. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
leap maker,
leap weel;
† leap-head, a weel;
† leap-hole (see
quot. 1641).
| 1360–1 Durh. Acc. Rolls 563 Johanni lepemaker pro 4 spartis pro bracina, 2 scuteles, 2 flekes [etc.], 8s. 4d. 1483 Cath. Angl. 213/2 A Lepe maker, cophinarius, corbio. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 248 A wonderfull number of these Yeels..insomuch as in the leapweeles and weernets..there be found somtime a thousand of them wrapped together in one ball. 1611 Cotgr., Mannequin..also, a little basket, leape-head, or weele, made of bullrushes, and vsed by fishermen. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 61 When..wee feare that it will heate in the mowe, then doe wee drawe up a leape aboute the middle of each roomstead; and soe by this meanes the storme getteth a vent by the leap-holes. |
▪ III. leap, v. (
liːp)
Pa. tense and
pple. leaped (
liːpt),
leapt (
lɛpt). Forms: 1
hléapan, 3
leapen,
læpen(n,
leoppe,
lupe, 4
luppe(n,
lippe,
lijpe,
lip,
leope,
Kent.
lheape, 3–4
lepen, 3–6
lepe, 5–6
Sc. and
north. dial. leip, 5–7
leppe, 3, 6–7
leape, 6–
leap.
pa. tense 1
hléop,
pl. hlupon, (
subj. hl{iacu}epe), 3
leope(n,
leop(pe,
le(o)up,
lupe, 3–5
lep(pe,
leep, (4, 7
leepe), 4–5
lepe, 4
lepp,
lhip,
lhiep,
lip,
loop,
lup, 4–7
lope, 4, 6
Sc., 9
lape, 5
lappe,
laup, 6
leap,
lapp,
loppe, 3–9
Sc. and
north. dial. lap;
weak forms: 3
leopt, 3–5
lepte, 4
leepte,
lepide,
lippid(e,
lippte,
lupten, 4–6
leped, 6
leapte, 5–7
lept, 6–
leapt,
leaped.
pa. pple. 1
hléapen, 3
ileope, 3–6
lopen, 5
lopon, 6
Sc. loppin, 6, 8
Sc. loppen, 9
Sc. luppen;
weak forms: 4
lippid, 6–7
lept, 6–
leapt, 7–
leaped.
[A Com. Teut. reduplicating str. vb., which has become weak in Eng.: OE. hléapan (pa. tense hléop, pl. hlupon, pa. pple. -hléapen) corresponds to OFris. (h)lâpa, hliapa, pa. tense hlêp, pa. pple. hlêpen, OS. (a-)hlôpan, pa. tense pl. -hliopun (MDu. lôpen, Du. loopen, pa. tense liep, pa. pple. geloopen), OHG. (h)lauffan, loufan (MHG. loufen, mod.G. laufen, pa. tense lief, pa. pple. gelaufen), ON. hlaupa, pa. tense hlióp, pl. hliópom, hlupom, pa. pple. hlaupenn (Sw. löpa, Da. l{obar}be), Goth. (us)-hlaupan:—OTeut. *hlaupan. The equivalent loup, from ON. hlaupa, has in Sc. and some northern dialects supplanted the native form in the present stem. No certain affinities outside
Teut. are known: some scholars have suggested connexion with
Lith. kl{uacu}poti to remain kneeling,
klùpti to fall on one's knees, to stumble; or with
Gr. κόλυµβος diver.]
† 1. a. intr. To run; to go hastily or with violence; to rush, to ‘throw oneself’. Also with
advs., as
forth,
out. (In
OE.,
{uacu}t hléapan = to escape.)
Obs.| Beowulf (Z.) 865 Hwilum heaþo-rofe hleapan leton on ᵹe-flit faran fealwe mearas. 11.. O.E. Chron. an. 1072 (MS. D.) Her Eadwine eorl & Morkere eorl hlupon ut & mislice ferdon on wuda. Ibid. an. 1087 (MS. Laud), Roger het an of heom se hleop into þam castele æt Norðwic. c 1205 Lay. 24847 Ȝif Arður ne leope to swulc hit a liun weore and þas word seide. a 1225 Juliana 38 Þis eadie meiden..leop to ant lahte him. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2726 And to hemward swide he lep. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8170 Vor hor hors were al astoned..ac some stode..stille & some lepte her & þer. a 1300 Cursor M. 4541 Þe boteler to þe prisun lep. c 1330 Assump. Virg. (B.M. MS.) 613 To þe beere he cam lepand. 1340 Ayenb. 240 Þo lhip op þe mayster and him keste. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 94 Erchedekenes and Deknes..Beon lopen to londun. 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 242 Thai that neir enbuschit war Lap out. 1528 St. Papers Hen. VIII, IV. 493 The freindes of the said traiter are loppen to hym into Scotlaunde. c 1560 Durham Depos. (Surtees) 65 He hard a sturr in the streit, and therwith lap furth. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 163 The Scottis couragious..leipis to straikis. 1644 R. Baillie Lett. (1841) II. 217 Coll. Macgillespick's son, who, with two thousand five hundred runagates from Ireland, are loppen over here. 1716 Ramsay On Wit 15 Hameward with clever strides he lap. |
b. To break
out in an illegal or disorderly way.
| a 1670 J. Scot Staggering State (1754) 153 He..grieving that he had not that power in court that he thought his birth and place deserved, leapt out, and made sundry out-reds against the king. |
2. a. To rise with both (or all four) feet suddenly from the ground or other standing-place, alighting in some other position; to jump, spring. Often with
advs., as
aside,
down,
in,
out. Also with cognate object.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xxxiii. 214 Ðæt hie ne hliepen unwillende on ðæt scorene clif unðeawa. c 1200 Ormin 11792 Þurrh þatt te laþe gast himm badd Dun læpenn off þe temmple. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1829 His hors for fere gan to turne, And leepe aside, and foundred as he leepe. c 1450 Merlin 21 He hadde lepte in to the ryver and drowned hym-self. 1513 Douglas æneis x. x. 119 The tothir fey bruthir..Lap fra the cart. 1530 Lyndesay Test. Papyngo 552 The ledder schuke, he lape, and gat one fall. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) III. 447 He suld haif gart him leip Thre lowpis in ane. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. ii. 322 Cauerns in the earth, so darke and wondrous deepe As that, into whose mouth the desperate Roman leepe. 1688 Boyle Final Causes Nat. Things ii. 53 He [the frog] must..shut his eyes, and so leap blindly. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4382/4 Stolen..a bright bay Gelding,..walks, trots, gallops, and leaps. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 233 ¶2 This Account..only mentioning the Name of the Lover who leaped, the Person he leaped for. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. i, I..lap in o'er the dyke. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xx. He leaped up the stone steps by two at a time. 1884 Lady Verney in Contemp. Rev. Oct. 547 To save himself by leaping from the car. |
| Proverb. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 6 Ye may learne..to looke or ye leape. c 1570 Marr. Wit & Science iv. i. C iv, But he that leapes before he loke, good sonne, Maye leape in the myre. |
b. Phrase.
(ready) to leap out of † oneself or one's skin (as an expression of delight or eagerness).
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 54 Our King being ready to leape out of himselfe, for ioy of his found Daughter. 1629 Massinger Picture iii. i, Tho' a poor snake, I will leap Out of my skin for joy. 1776 Foote Capuchin i. Wks. 1799 II. 388, I should have been ready to leap out of my skin at the sight of a countryman in foreign parts. |
c. To spring to one's seat
upon a horse,
into the saddle. Often with
up. Also,
† to leap on,
† to leap to horse.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. ii. x. [xiii.] (1890) 138 [He] hleop on þæs cyninges stedan. c 1205 Lay. 9284 Leoup he an his stede. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 41/232 And lupe þou up bi-hynde me. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 5278 (Kölbing) Opon her hors þai lopen swiþe. 13.. Sir Beues 1945 (MS. A.) Into þe sadel a lippte. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 28 The bruss lap on, and thiddir raid. c 1440 Generydes 2262 Generydes leppe vppe vppon his stede. c 1450 Merlin 236 Thei dide his comaundement, and lepe to horse. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxii. 216 Huon & his company lept on theyr horses. 1600 Disc. Gowrie Conspir. in Moyses Mem. Scot. (1755) 265 Before his majestie..could leape on horse⁓back. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Bannatyne Club) I. 94 Allwayes, he lap on in Aberdein, about 60 horse with swords, pistolls, [etc.]. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. ii. 137 Humáyun had only time to leap on horseback. |
d. Of a fish: To spring from the water.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 203 A greet fische leep into þe schip. 1423 Jas. I. Kingis Q. cliii, Lytill fischis..with bakkis blewe as lede, Lap and playit. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot., Descr. Alb. xi. (1541) C ij b, Als sone as thir salmond cumis to ye lyn, thay leip. 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake 71 The troutis laup out of the Leven Louch. 1867 F. Francis Angling ix. (1880) 334 Whenever a salmon leaps you must keep a slack line. |
e. to leap at: to make a spring at in order to seize;
fig. to exhibit eagerness for.
Cf. to jump at. So
† to leap to be or do something.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. xiii. 51 If Cæsar please, our Master Will leape to be his Friend. 1632 Massinger Maid of Hon. iii. i, My too curious appetite..Would leap at a mouldy crust. 1653 Walton Angler 214, I could..see fishes leaping at Flies of several shapes and colours. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. i. i, But observe this Dogg; I hold him out Meat..: 'Tis held indeed higher than he can Leap; and yet, if he Leap not at it, I do not give it him. 1671 L. Addison W. Barbary 20 Large Incoms, the baite disloyalty still leaps at. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet Let. xiii, Saunders lap at the proposition. |
3. To spring sportively up and down; to jump (with joy, mirth, etc.); to dance, skip.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. v. iii. (1891) 390 He up astode & áa wæs gongende & hleapende & Dryhten heriᵹende. c 1205 Lay. 24697 Summe heo gunnen lepen. 1340 Ayenb. 156 Þe asse..beginþ to lheape and yernþ to-yens him. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xi. 17 We han sungen to ȝou, and ȝe han nat lippid. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxiii. (Percy Soc.) 163 My grey⁓houndes leped and my stede did sterte. 1583 Babington Commandm. iv. (1637) 39 Asking us if that were to hallow the Sabbath..to swill & to bibble, to leape, to wallow & tumble in bed. 1611 Bible Luke vi. 23 Reioice yee in that day, and leape for ioy. 1792 A. Wilson Watty & Meg, Watty lap, and danced, and kiss'd her. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh i. (1857) 41 And ankle-deep in English grass I leaped, And clapped my hands. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad x, And brutes in field and brutes in pen Leap that the world goes round again. |
4. To spring suddenly
to or
upon one's feet; to rise with a bound
from a sitting or recumbent position. Often with
up.
† to leap afoot: to spring to the ground from horseback; to dismount.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 7135 (Kölbing) [He] gan arise of his swouȝ..Vp he lepe wiþ chaufed blod. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8646 Achilles..bound vp his wounde..Lep vp full lyuely launchit on swithe. c 1450 Merlin 195 He lepe upon hys feet vigerously. 1481 Caxton Godfrey lxviii. 113 The duc leep a foote & drewe oute his swerde. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 498 Arethusa leaping from her Bed, First lifts above the Waves her beauteous Head. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 96 A pilot asleep on the howling sea Leaped up from the deck in agony. 1859 Tennyson Vivien 842 Vivien..Leapt from her session on his lap and stood Stiff as a frozen viper. |
| fig. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 19 The sudden light that leapt at the first word's provocation, from the heart-deeps where it slept. |
5. a. transf. of things: To spring, move with a leap or bound;
esp. to ‘fly’ (by explosive or other force). Often with
advs. Also
fig.| c 1205 Lay. 22031 Vðen þer leppeoð ut..fleoð ut a þat lond. 1340 Ayenb. 27 And uor þet þe herte wes uol of uenym hit behoueþ þet hit lheape out be þe mouþe. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. iii. (1495) 411 The goshawke..smytyth and flappyth her wynges, and in soo doynge the olde fethers lepen out and newe growe. 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 46 Fyrst sethe þy mustuls quyl shel of lepe In water. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 627 Al the vertu ther schulde bee, Is lopon into the lytyl tre. 1575 Gascoigne Dan Bartholomew Posies 98 From reasons rule his fancie lightly lope. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 206 He parted Frowning from me, as if Ruine Leap'd from his Eyes. 1667 Marvell Corr. xxxvi. Wks. 1872–5 II. 82 'Tis probable it [the Bill] may this very day leap beyond any man's reach for the future. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. (C.P.S.) 89, I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. 1814 Cary Dante, Par. v. 91 The arrow, ere the cord is still, Leapeth unto its mark. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. x. 65 The echos..leaped from cliff to cliff. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 64 The vessel was shaken, and the name of Matthias leapt out. 1887 Ruskin Præterita II. 154 Above field and wood, leaps up the Salevè Cliff, two thousand feet into the air. |
† b. To burst, crack, ‘fly’.
Obs.| 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. vi. in Ashm. (1652) 95 Manie Claies woll leape in Fier. 1604 E. [Grimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xxvi. 198 As a chesnut laid into the fire, leaps and breaks. |
c. Of the heart: To beat vigorously, beat ‘high’, bound, throb. Also
rarely of the pulse.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 289 b, Wherfore the herte hoppeth and lepeth in the body. 1596 Bp. W. Barlow Three Serm. Ded. 81 Made mens hearts to leape for joy. 1688 Miege Fr. Dict. s.v. Heart, His Heart is ready to leap into his Mouth. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. III. 32 He found its [the carp's] heart leaping..four hours after a separation from the body. 1871 Palgrave Lyr. Poems 6 His heart leapt high as he look'd. 1900 Blackw. Mag. June 789 His pulses leaped, and his comely face Glowed with the pride of a fighting race. |
d. colloq. Of frost: To ‘give’ or thaw suddenly.
| 1869 H. Stephens Bk. Farm. (ed. 2) I. 139/2 When frost suddenly gives way in the morning about sunrise, it is said to have ‘leapt’. |
e. Mining. (See
quot.)
| 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. s.v., Sometimes a Vein..will Leap [as] much aside as a Yard..or more. 1802 J. Mawe Min. Derbyshire 206 Gloss., Leap, the vein is said to leap when a substance intersects it, and it is found again, a few feet from the perpendicular. |
f. with reference to leap-year.
| 1600 [see leap day]. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 6 Whereupon euery fifth yeere leapeth, and one odde day is set to the rest. 1604 Bk. Com. Prayer Rubric, When the yeeres of our Lorde may be diuided into foure euen partes, which is euery fourth yeere: then the Sunday letter leapeth. a 1681 Wharton Disc. Yrs. Months & D. Wks. (1683) 74 By this Addition..the Fixed Holy-days, and the like, do as it were leap one day farther into the Week. |
6. fig. a. To pass abruptly or at a bound (from one condition or position to another). Also with
back,
down,
up.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 236 Lo! hwu þe swike wolde makien hire, a last, leapen into prude. a 1240 Wohunge in Cott. Hom. 285 For þenne schal i lepen fra rode in to reste. a 1300 Cursor M. 8800 Þat þou þarfor lepe not in ire. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 384 Þus deede beggers freris, lippen up to kynges power. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2084 Bot some leppe fro the lyfe, that one ȝone lawnde houez. 1568 Satir. Poems Reform. xlvii. 101 The pairteis mett and maid a fair contrack; Bot now, allace! the men are loppin aback For oppin sklander, callit ane speikand devill. 1598 R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. vi. x. (1622) 137 He gaue him time to leape backe from their agreements. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 223 And (to leape back into the Talmud) a certaine Rabbi..saw [etc.]. Ibid. 746 Let us draw somewhat nearer the Sunne, gently marching..lest if wee should suddenly leape from one extremity to another, wee should [etc.]. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Bannatyne Club) II. 319 Forgetting his oath..he lap in to the uther syd. 1692 R. L'Estrange Josephus iv. i. (1733) 78 Without leaping out of one Slavery into another. 1846 J. Martineau Ess. (1891) III. 378 They leap down from Aristotle to Bentham, from Plato to Coleridge, with the fewest possible resting-places between. |
b. To pass
over at a bound;
† to evade, neglect.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. ii. 20 A hot temper leapes ore a colde decree. 1658–9 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 55, I could leap over the rest, but this passed, I doubt it will never be recovered in any age. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. p. xv, I can perceive several Things worth noticing, they have neglected or leapt over. 1891 Cheyne Orig. Psalter viii. 408 The world's great change was expected so shortly that the brief waiting time might easily be leaped over. |
c. Mus. To pass from one note to another by an interval greater than a degree of the scale. Also
trans. (
Cf. leap n.1 7.)
| 1879 G. A. Macfarren Counterpoint iv. 10 After several consecutive 2nds, in melody, it is bad to leap, in the same direction, upward or downward to an accented note. 1889 E. Prout Harmony (ed. 3) xiii. 143 The third of the chord exceptionally leaping, instead of moving as usual by step. 1927 C. H. Kitson Counterpoint for Beginners 17 A part may not leap any interval greater than an octave. |
7. trans. To spring over; to pass from one side to the other by leaping. Also in
phr. to leap bounds (
lit. and
fig.). Also said of a bridge span.
| 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 57 Romulus diede afore thro lepenge the walles of Rome. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 1046 Schaw skild and pithie resouns quhy That Danger lap the dyke. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. iv. 21 Be clamorous, and leape all ciuill bounds. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 228 Let 'em not leap the Ditch, or swim the Flood. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 93 The Nimrod..Leaps every fence but one. 1786 Burns Twa Dogs 30 He was a gash an' faithful tyke, As ever lap a sheugh or dyke. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xxviii, Come on, leap it like men! 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. 293 The single arched bridge that leaps the Ain. |
| fig. a 1637 B. Jonson Pind. Ode, Mem. Sir L. Cary & Sir H. Morison iii, He leap'd the present age, Possest with holy rage, To see that bright eternal day. |
8. To cause (an animal) to take a leap. Also
fig.| 1681–6 J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 355 Those restless Furies..will never cease stimulating and spurring us on..till they have leapt us headlong into the everlasting Burnings. 1860 Russell Diary India II. 287 [He] had leaped his horse across a deep nullah. |
9. Of certain beasts: To spring upon (the female) in copulation. Also
absol. Also
† to leap upon.
| 1530 Tindale Gen. xxxi. 10 All the rammes that leape vpon the shepe are straked, spotted and partie. 1530 Palsgr. 606/1 Kepe your horse in the stabyll, for and he leape a mare he wyll be the worse to journey a good whyle after. 1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 6. §4 The Lords..shall not..suffer any of the said mares to be covered or leapt with any stoned Horse. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. iv. 49. 1656 Ridgley Pract. Physick 251 A Ram that never leaped a Sheep. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 128 Colts got by such Horses that have leaped eight or ten Times a Day. 1772 Ann. Reg. 105/1 A bull..which leaps cows at 5l. 5s. a cow. 1813 Sporting Mag. XLII. 232 The young bull..will not leap any cows..till the first of May. |
| transf. a 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Philaster ii. ii, I had rather be Sir Tim the schoolmaster, and leap a dairy-maid. 1639 Mayne City Match ii. iii. 13 Why what are you? you will not leap me, Sir, Pray know your distance. |
10. Comb.:
leap candle (see
quot.);
† leap-land a., vagabond (
cf. land-leaper). Also leap frog.
| 1839 W. J. Thoms Anecd. & Tradit. (Camden) 96 The young girls in and about Oxford have a sport called *Leap Candle, for which they set a candle in the middle of the room in a candlestick, and then draw up their coats..and dance over the candle back and forth with these words [etc.]. |
| 1614 D. Dyke Myst. Self-deceiving (ed. 8) 256 God did not allow of such rouing *lep-land-Leuites. |