Word OriginFrench, literally ‘allow to do’. Definitions on the go Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.See laissez-faire in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary ...
The pronunciation in English is lay-say-fair. Its French origins date back to the late Renaissance. As the story goes, it was first used about the year 1680, a time when the nation-state was on the rise throughout Europe. The French finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, asked a merch...