dejar

• dexar (obsolete)

From older dexar, from Old Spanish lexar (modern alejar) from Latin laxāre, present active infinitive of laxō, whence also Spanish laxar (a borrowed doublet). Also compare Portuguese and Galician deixar, Asturian dexar, Aragonese deixar, Catalan deixar, Occitan daissar, laissar, Sicilian dassari and both French laisser and délaisser. The change of the initial -l- to -d- in many (especially Iberian) Romance languages has been explained in various ways: most likely, it is due to the influence of the preposition de, often used in constructions with this verb, or from contraction of a Late Latin delaxāre due to rapid pronunciation (as is common in quasi-auxiliary verbs). Less likely explanations include influence from the verb dar (“to give”), or derivation from Latin dēsinere, which is difficult on phonetic grounds[1].

• IPA^(key): /deˈxaɾ/, [d̪eˈxaɾ]

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dejar (first-person singular present dejo, first-person singular preterite dejé, past participle dejado)

1. (transitive) to leave (to place)

   Dejé la cerveza arriba.

   I left the beer upstairs.

2. (transitive) to leave (to cause, result in)

   Su respuesta nos dejó convencidos.

   His answer left us convinced.

3. (transitive) to let, allow

   Synonym: permitir

   Antonym: prohibir

   Deja que se explique.

   Let her explain herself.

4. (transitive) to let go, put down (to release from one's grasp)

   Synonym: soltar

5. (transitive) to leave, abandon

   Synonym: abandonar

   Su madre la dejó cuando tenía tres años.

   Her mother left her when she was three.

   Van a dejar la bebida.

   They're going to give up drinking.

6. (intransitive, dejar de) to cease, stop (doing something)

   Synonym: parar

   Hace dos años dejaron de fumar.

   Two years ago they stopped smoking.

7. (reflexive) to let oneself go (cease to care about one's appearance)

• dejar caer (“drop”)
• dejarse

• dejado
• dejadez
• dejación

• “dejar” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.