laissons

Laissons is the first-person plural present indicative form of the French verb laisser, meaning to leave or to allow. In modern usage, it is commonly employed to describe what “we” do now or to propose a course of action in the form of a suggestion or invitation, often translated as “let us” or “let’s.” It appears in phrases such as Laissons cela pour demain ("Let's leave that for tomorrow") or Laissons-les faire ("Let them do it"). It can also take objects or infinitives, as in Nous laissons passer le temps ("We let time pass") or Laissons parler le suspect ("Let the suspect speak").

Usage and nuance

Laissons is versatile in both literal and figurative senses. It can indicate permission or a lack of intervention, and it frequently marks a collaborative or exploratory attitude in conversation. In fixed expressions, it participates in forms like Laissons faire, a broader idiom meaning to let things take their course or to laissez-faire in policy terms.

Grammatical notes

Laissons is the nous form of laisser in the present tense: je laisse, tu laisses, il/elle laisse, nous laissons, vous laissez, ils/elles laissent. The same stem laiss- appears across tenses, with standard Latin-based French inflection. When used to propose action, Laissons often introduces a proposition equivalent to “let us …” in English.

Etymology

Laisser derives from Old French laisser, itself from a Vulgar Latin origin related to laxare “to loosen” or “to release,” and is connected to the broader family of verbs meaning to permit or to abandon.

See also

Laisser-faire, laisser faire (logic of non-intervention). The verb choisir, et autres examples illustrate French mood and aspect.