Etymograph

English

release

Release comes from Middle English relesen, from Old French relaisser, a variant of relascher.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400relaisser
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500relesen
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1997release

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400relaisser
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500relesen
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1997release

Earliest quotation: 1997, MKara50188, Repost! Abduction (J/K, mild bondage, M/F sex): “His hot release pouring into her, filling her and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)leg- ‘to tire out, slacken’

languish, languid, slake

through Latin laxus ‘wide, spacious, roomy’

relax, lax, leash, laxity, 4 more

through Latin laxō ‘to open, make wide’

relaxation, relish, 5 more

Today it means

noun The event of setting (someone or something) free (e.g. hostages, slaves, prisoners, caged animals, hooked or stuck mechanisms).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Old French relaisser / release

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