release

Pronunciation

• IPA: /rɪˈliːs/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English relesen, borrowed from Old French relaissier (“to relinquish, let go”), also relesser,^[2][3][4] a variant of relacher (“to release, relax”),^[2][5] from Latin relaxāre (“to loosen”),^[2][6] the source of relax.^[3][7] Latin relaxāre is from re- (“back”) and laxāre (“to loosen”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleg- (“to be slack”).^[2] The noun is Middle English reles, from Old French reles, a back-formation from relesser.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To withdraw, revoke or cancel a decree or sentence: about 1300^[2] or 1297.^[8] The noun first meant deliverance from trouble or pain, in the early 14th century.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

“To relieve, alleviate” is from the mid-14th century, as is “to set free from a duty”.^[2] Barnhart notes that “to set free, let go” is first recorded about 1350, perhaps weakened from the earlier “to free from pain”.^[3] Setting free from prison is from the late 14th century,^[2] and in law the release of property is from about 1400.^[2] The spelling release is from 1464.^[3] The modern senses of publication are recent: to release news to the press is from 1904, a film from 1912 and a music recording by 1962.^[2] A news item or statement for the press is a release by 1927,^[2] and a written permission to publish from 1965.^[8] In psychology, release from emotional tension is from 1915.^[8] As a euphemism for dismissal from a job, it is American by 1904.^[2]

Timeline

• 1297 – to revoke, cancel.^[8]
• early 14th century – noun, deliverance.^[2]
• c. 1350 – to set free.^[3]
• c. 1400 – legal release of property.^[2]
• 1464 – the spelling release.^[3]
• 1904 – to release news.^[2]
• 1912 – to release a film.^[2]
• 1927 – a press release.^[2]
• 1962 – a music release.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To set free from confinement or restraint.
2. To let go of something held or fastened.
3. To free from a debt or obligation.
4. To make available to the public, as a film, recording or piece of news.
5. (law) To give up a right or claim to another.

Noun

1. Freedom from confinement, restraint or suffering.
2. A device that unfastens a mechanism.
3. Something issued for the public, such as a film, recording or press release.
4. (law) A document giving up a claim or right.

Word family

• releasable
• releasability
• controlled-release
• prerelease
• time-release
• timed-release
• nonrelease
• releaser

Related words

• relax
• relish
• lax

Usage notes

The OED records an unrelated, obsolete release meaning “relish”, from 1604.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press