laissez faire
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See also: laissez-faire
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from French laissez faire (“leave it be”, literally “let do”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈlæseɪ ˌfɛə(ɹ)/, /ˈleɪseɪ ˌfɛə(ɹ)/
- (General American) enPR: lĕs'ā fârʹ, lĕz'ā, lā'sā('), lā'zā('), IPA(key): /ˌlɛ(ˌ)seɪ ˈfɛəɹ/, /ˌleɪ-/, /-(ˌ)zeɪ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: lais‧sez faire
Noun
laissez faire (uncountable)
- (economics, politics) A policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs.
- 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, chapter 9, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book I (Proem), page 106:
- In brief, all this Mammon-Gospel of Supply-and-demand, Competition, Laissez-faire, and Devil take the hindmost, begins to be one of the shabbiest Gospels ever preached on Earth; or altogether the shabbiest.
- A policy of non-interference by authority in any competitive process.
Translations
economics: a policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs
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Adjective
laissez faire (comparative more laissez faire, superlative most laissez faire)
- (economics, politics) Practicing or representing governmental noninterference, or minimal interference, especially in economic affairs; pertaining to free-market capitalism.
- I think the city should take a laissez faire approach to this; getting involved would only make things worse.
- (economics, politics) Advocating such noninterference.
- The Senator claims to be laissez faire, but he voted in favor of the subsidies.
- (economics) Resulting from such noninterference.
- The price ceiling was well below the laissez faire price that demand would have supported, so there were always shortages.
- (of a person) Avoiding interference in other people's affairs; choosing to live and let live.
Translations
economics, politics: practicing or representing governmental noninterference, or minimal interference
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politics: advocating such noninterference
economics: resulting from such noninterference
of a person: avoiding interference in other people's affairs
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See also
French
Noun
laissez faire m (uncountable)
- (rare) Dated form of laisser-faire.
Verb
- inflection of laisser faire: