leasures

Leasures is an archaic spelling variant of the noun leisure, used primarily in 18th- and 19th‑century English. The word refers to an activity performed during free time for relaxation, enjoyment, or intellectual amusement. Its etymology is identical to leisure, stemming from Old French loisir (later Dutch loses, meaning “free from duties”), which in turn derives from Latin liberius ("free"). The spelling leasures appears less frequently than the standard leisure, but appears in literary works such as “The Life and Times of..." and in some legal documents of the period. The trace of the more expanded form can be seen in phrases such as “the leasures of the mind” or “national leasures”, indicating pursuits beyond strictly physical pastimes.

In modern usage, leasures appears almost exclusively in historical or philological contexts. Contemporary English has largely abandoned the form, favoring leisure or leisure activities. Nevertheless, the term is occasionally cited in studies of language change, as it illustrates a transitional orthographic phase where the vowel "e" was inserted to reflect pronunciation. The spelling also appears in some regional dialects and in old newspapers, often used to emphasize the genteel connotation of “freed time” versus “idle time”.

While leasures is no longer in common usage, the word is of interest for scholars of linguistic history and literary studies who examine the evolution of vocabulary related to free time and contemplative pursuits. It is listed in some modern dictionaries as a historical form of leisure, usually with a note that it is archaic.