leave of absencen.
/ˌliːv əv ˈabs(ə)ns/, U.S. /ˌliv əv ˈæbsəns/ 1. Permission to be absent from official duties (as from the armed forces), employment, etc.; (also) an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > permission > [noun] > permission to be absent
exeat1728
furlough1763
leave of absence1767
out1845
1767 A. Campbell Lexiphanes 113 [In ridicule.] I obsecrate you, Mr. Doctor, to concede me leave of absence.
1771 E. Burke Let. 31 July in Corr. (1844) I. 255 He has got a leave of absence.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Leave of absence, a permission which is granted to officers..and soldiers, to be absent from camp or quarters for any specific period.
1851 Allen's India Mail 2 Jan. 8/1 His sole motive for obtaining leave of absence was to endeavour to obtain an audience of the maj. gen. commanding the division.
1881 Nature 17 Mar. 471/2 Leave of absence granted by the visitatorial boards.
a1935 A. L. Attwater Pembroke Coll. Cambr. (1936) iii. 31 Thomas Byll, Fellow in 1523,..had leave of absence in 1530..to study medicine in Padua.
1997 S. M. Duncan Citizen Warriors vi. 112 The VRRA required employers to grant a leave of absence to employees who participated in reserve training.
2. A period of time when a person has permission to be absent from official duties (as from the armed forces), employment, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > [noun] > leave of absence
leave1668
leave of absence1783
swing1917
1783 Ld. Nelson Let. 28 Oct. in Dispatches & Lett. (1844) I. 83 Six months leave of absence, to go to Lisle, in France, on my private occasions.
1844 Queen's Regulations & Orders Army 87 The Pay of all Officers, who do not join their Regiments on the expiration of their Leave of Absence, is to be withheld.
1886 E. N. Horsford Scheme adopted by Trustees, Wellesley Coll. 8 Every seventh year of her academic service from a given date, she shall be eligible to have..a year's leave of absence, to be passed in Europe.
1927 New South Wales Industr. Gaz. 30 June 1202 Four weeks' leave of absence on full pay shall be granted to each employee on the completion of twenty years' service with the Company.
1973 Times 17 Apr. 12/8 She will be on a six month leave-of-absence from the [National Theatre] company.
1991 Amer. Demographics Feb. 52/1 Strauss, and DuPont, are responding by offering extended leaves of absence, part-time schedules,..and job sharing for their employees who are parents.
Phrases
on (a) leave of absence: away from official duties (as from the armed forces), employment, etc., by permission; during an agreed period away from such duties, etc.
ΚΠ
1803 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 24 Sept. 442 The Hon. Mr. Paget, the English minister to the Court of Vienna, has arrived in London..on a leave of absence.
1844 Queen's Regulations & Orders Army 86 Officers, going on Leave of Absence.
1858 Harper's Mag. Mar. 493/1 If he work at business..if he explore the Amazon or the North Pole,..it is still as a gentleman on leave of absence from the fireside and the family.
1918 T. S. Eliot Let. 10 Nov. (1988) I. 253 I was on leave of absence trying to get a position promised me by the U.S. Navy.
1983 M. Cohen Cafe le Dog 19 The Visiting Chair might be occupied by Robyn Marler, the distinguished Coleridgean who was on a leave of absence from Princeton.
2013 R. Taylor New Mexico State Police iii. 41 By the end of 1944, twelve state policemen were on leave of absence, having enlisted or been drafted to serve in the military.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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