leap of faith

leap  (lp)

v. leaped or leapt (lpt, lpt), leap·ing, leaps

v.intr.

1. To spring or bound upward from or as if from the ground; jump: leaped over the wall; salmon leaping upriver.

2.

a. To move quickly or abruptly from one condition or subject to another: always leaping to conclusions.

b. To act impulsively: leaped at the opportunity to travel.

v.tr.

1. To jump over: couldn't leap the brook.

2. To cause to leap: leap a horse over a hurdle.

n.

1.

a. The act of leaping; a jump.

b. A place jumped over or from.

c. The distance cleared in a leap.

2. An abrupt or precipitous passage, shift, or transition: a leap from rags to riches.

Idioms:

by leaps and bounds

Very quickly: growing by leaps and bounds.

leap in the dark

An act whose consequences cannot be predicted.

leap of faith

The act or an instance of believing or trusting in something intangible or incapable of being proved.

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[Middle English lepen, from Old English hlapan.]

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leaper n.

Translations

leap of faith

n → Vertrauensvorschuss m; to take or make a leap of faith → einen Vertrauensvorschuss gewähren; it takes a considerable leap of faith to believe that … → man muss schon eine Menge Vertrauen aufbringen, um zu glauben, dass …