Origin and history of let-up

transitive, "allow (something) to be done, suffer or allow to be," from Old French permetre and directly from Latin permittere "let...pass, let go, let loose; give up, hand over; let, allow, grant, permit," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward...," hence "through") + mittere "let go, send" (see mission)....

proverbial for "something extremely rare or non-existent," late 14c., from Juvenal ["Sat." vi. 164], but the real thing turned up...Well, let her be handsome, charming, rich and fertile; let her have ancient ancestors ranged about her halls; let her be...my wife than you, O Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, if, with all your virtues, you bring me a haughty brow, and reckon up...

c. 1300, norishen, "to supply with food and drink, feed; to bring up, nurture, promote the growth or development of" (a child..., a young animal, a vice, a feeling, etc.), from Old French norriss-, stem of norrir "raise, bring up, nurture, foster; maintain...literally "she who gives suck," from PIE *nu-tri-, suffixed form (with feminine agent suffix) of *(s)nau- "to swim, flow, let...

The meaning "to move with slashing force" (1798) is the sense in let her rip "allow something to go or continue unrestrained...At another time, when a charge was ordered one of the officers could not think of the word, and he shouted—'Let 'er rip!'...—when the whole line burst out with a yell—'Let 'er rip!'...More broadly, rip, especially with up, stands for a cutting open or apart with a quick, deep strike: as, to rip up a body...

late 14c., admitten, "let in," from Latin admittere "admit, give entrance, allow to enter; grant an audience," of acts, "...let be done, allow, permit," from ad "to" (see ad-) + mittere "let go, send" (see mission)....

Go with the flow, enjoy the forces, let ankles, knees, hips and waist move subtly to soak up potential disturbances of acceleration...

.; tenement house "house broken up into apartments, usually in a poor section of a city" is first recorded 1858, American...English, from tenement in an earlier sense (especially in Scotland) "large house constructed to be let to a number of tenants...

Old English lætan (Northumbrian leta) "to allow; to leave behind, depart from; leave undone; bequeath," also "to rent, put to rent or hire" (class VII strong verb; past tense let, leort, past participle gelæten), from Proto-Germanic *letan (source also of Old Saxon latan, Old Fri

expressing motion or direction from within or from a central point, also removal from proper place or position, Old English ut "out, without, outside," from Proto-Germanic *ūt- (Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Gothic ut, Middle Dutch uut, Dutch uit, Old High German uz, German