leave
n. uncountablen. time away from your job that your boss allows you to take. You usually use this for vacations, being sick, or family reasons.
n. permission to be absent from a post of duty or employment; the period of time such an absence lasts.
She is currently on sick leave for two weeks.
The company policy allows employees to take up to six months of unpaid leave for personal reasons.
After serving three years abroad, the officer was granted a month of compassionate leave to attend to urgent family matters in his home country.
From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic laibijan, from Proto-Germanic laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European leyp- (“to stick; fat”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēva (“to leave”), Old Saxon lēvian, Old High German leiban (“to leave”), Old Norse leifa (“to leave over”) (whence Icelandic leifa (“to leave food uneaten”), Swedish leva (“to leave”)), lifna (“to be left”) (whence Danish levne). More at lave, belive. The noun is attested since the 19th century, with earliest references to billiards.
From Middle English leve, from Old English lēaf (“permission, privilege”), from Proto-Germanic laubō, laubą (“permission, privilege, favour, worth”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, hold dear”). Cognate with obsolete German Laube (“permission”), Swedish lov (“permission”), Icelandic leyfi (“permission”). Related to Dutch verlof, German Urlaub, Erlaubnis, Verlaub. See also love.
From Middle English leven, from Old English līefan (“to allow, grant, concede; believe, trust, confide in”), from Proto-West Germanic laubijan, from Proto-Germanic laubijaną (“to allow, praise”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, hold dear”). Cognate with German erlauben (“to allow”), German glauben (“to believe”), Icelandic leyfa (“to allow”).
From Middle English leven, from lef (“leaf”). More at leaf.
From French lever. Compare levy. Compare also Middle English leve, a variant of levy that may have been monosyllabic.
Commonly used with the preposition 'on' ('on leave') and often modified by the type of absence, such as 'maternity leave' or 'annual leave'.
I am taking a leave next weekI am taking leave next weekIn the sense of time off work, the noun is typically uncountable and does not take an indefinite article.