Mine ancient wound is hardly whole, And lets me from the saddle.
Tennyson.
Let, n. 1. A retarding; hindrance; obstacle; impediment; delay; --
common in the phrase without let or hindrance, but elsewhere archaic.
Keats.
Consider whether your doings be to the let of your salvation or
not.
Latimer.
2. (Lawn Tennis) A stroke in which a ball touches the top of the net in
passing over.
Let, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Let (Letted (lt"td), [Obs].); p. pr. & vb. n.
Letting.] [OE. leten, læten (past tense lat, let, p. p. laten, leten,
lete), AS. ltan (past tense lt, p. p. lten); akin to OFries. lta, OS.
ltan, D. laten, G. lassen, OHG. lzzan, Icel. lta, Sw. låta, Dan. lade,
Goth. ltan, and L. lassus weary. The original meaning seems to have
been, to let loose, let go, let drop. Cf. Alas, Late, Lassitude, Let to
hinder.] 1. To leave; to relinquish; to abandon. [Obs. or Archaic,
except when followed by alone or be.]
He . . . prayed him his voyage for to let.
Chaucer.
Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets, But to her mother
Nature all her care she lets.
Spenser.
Let me alone in choosing of my wife.
Chaucer.