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relinquish - 4 dictionary results

re⋅lin⋅quish

  [ri-ling-kwish]
Use relinquish in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to renounce or surrender (a possession, right, etc.): to relinquish the throne.
2. to give up; put aside or desist from: to relinquish a plan.
3. to let go; release: to relinquish one's hold.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME relinquissen, relinquisshen < MF relinquiss-, long s. of relinquir ≪ L relinquere to leave behind, equiv. to re- re- + linquere to leave (akin to lend )

Related forms:
re⋅lin⋅quish⋅er, noun
re⋅lin⋅quish⋅ment, noun

Synonyms:
2. yield, cede, waive, forego, abdicate, leave, quit, forswear, desert, resign. See abandon 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To relinquish
re·lin·quish   (rĭ-lĭng'kwĭsh)   
tr.v.   re·lin·quished, re·lin·quish·ing, re·lin·quish·es
  1. To retire from; give up or abandon.
  2. To put aside or desist from (something practiced, professed, or intended).
  3. To let go; surrender.
  4. To cease holding physically; release: relinquish a grip.

[Middle English relinquisshen, from Old French relinquir, relinquiss-, from Latin relinquere : re-, re- + linquere, to leave; see leikw- in Indo-European roots.]
re·lin'quish·er n., re·lin'quish·ment n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean letting something go or giving something up. Relinquish, the least specific, may connote regret: can't relinquish the idea.
Yield implies giving way, as to pressure, often in the hope that such action will be temporary: had to yield ground.
Resign suggests formal relinquishing (resigned their claim to my land) or acquiescence arising from hopelessness (resigned himself to forgoing his vacation). Abandon and surrender both imply no expectation of recovering what is given up; surrender also implies the operation of compulsion or force: abandoned all hope for a resolution; surrendered control of the company.
Cede connotes formal transfer, as of territory: ceded the province to the victorious nation.
Waive implies a voluntary decision to dispense with something, such as a right: waived all privileges.
To renounce is to relinquish formally and usually as a matter of principle: renounced worldly goods.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Relinquish

Re*lin"quish\ (-kw?sh), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relinquished (-kw?sht); p. pr. & vb. n. Relinquishing.] [OF. relinquir, L. relinquere to leave behind; pref. re- re + linquere to leave. See Loan, and cf. Relic, Relict.]

1. To withdraw from; to leave behind; to desist from; to abandon; to quit; as, to relinquish a pursuit.

We ought to relinquish such rites. --Hooker.

They placed Irish tenants upon the lands relinquished by the English. --Sir J. Davies.

2. To give up; to renounce a claim to; resign; as, to relinquish a debt.

Syn: To resign; leave; quit; forsake; abandon; desert; renounce; forb?ar; forego. See Resign.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : relinquish
Spanish: renunciar (a),
German: aufgeben,
Japanese: やめる
More Translations »

relinquish 
1472, from M.Fr. relinquiss-, prp. stem of relinquir (12c.), from L. relinquere "leave behind, forsake, abandon, give up," from re- "back" + linquere "to leave," from PIE *linkw-, from base *leikw- "to leave behind" (cf. Skt. reknas "inheritance, wealth," rinakti "leaves;" Gk. leipein "to leave;" Goth. leihvan, O.E. lænan "to lend;" O.H.G. lihan "to borrow;" O.N. lan "loan").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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