Lease (lēz), v. i. [AS. lesan to gather; akin to D. lezen to gather, read, G. lesen, Goth. lisan to gather; cf. Lith lesti to peck.] To gather what harvesters have left behind; to glean. [Obs.] Dryden.
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Lease (lēs), n. [Cf. OF. lais. See Lease, v. t.] 1. The temporary transfer of a possession to another person in return for a fee or other valuable consideration paid for the transfer; especially, A demise or letting of lands, tenements, or hereditaments to another for life, for a term of years, or at will, or for any less interest than that which the lessor has in the property, usually for a specified rent or compensation.
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2. The contract for such letting.
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3. Any tenure by grant or permission; the time for which such a tenure holds good; allotted time.
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Our high-placed Macbeth
Shall live the lease of nature. Shak.
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Lease and release a mode of conveyance of freehold estates, formerly common in England and in New York. its place is now supplied by a simple deed of grant. Burrill. Warren's Blackstone.
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