from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Release \Re*lease"\ (r?-l?s"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Released}
(r?*l?st"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Releasing}.] [OE. relessen, OF.
relassier, to release, to let free. See {Relay}, n., {Relax},
and cf. {Release} to lease again.]
1. To let loose again; to set free from restraint,
confinement, or servitude; to give liberty to, or to set
at liberty; to let go.
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Now at that feast he released unto them one
prisoner, whomsoever they desired. --Mark xv. 6.
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2. To relieve from something that confines, burdens, or
oppresses, as from pain, trouble, obligation, penalty.
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3. (Law) To let go, as a legal claim; to discharge or
relinquish a right to, as lands or tenements, by conveying
to another who has some right or estate in possession, as
when the person in remainder releases his right to the
tenant in possession; to quit.
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4. To loosen; to relax; to remove the obligation of; as, to
release an ordinance. [Obs.] --Hooker.
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A sacred vow that none should aye release.
--Spenser.
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Syn: To free; liberate; loose; discharge; disengage;
extricate; let go; quit; acquit.
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