relinquish - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: relinquish

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

re·lin·quish

Audio Help [ri-ling-kwish] Pronunciation Key

–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 abandon¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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relinquish

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

re·lin·quish Audio Help (rĭ-lĭng'kwĭsh) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. re·lin·quished, re·lin·quish·ing, re·lin·quish·es

To retire from; give up or abandon.
To put aside or desist from (something practiced, professed, or intended).
To let go; surrender.
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 leik^w- 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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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").

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

relinquish
verb
1.	part with a possession or right; "I am relinquishing my bedroom to the long-term house guest"; "resign a claim to the throne" [syn: release]
2.	do without or cease to hold or adhere to; "We are dispensing with formalities"; "relinquish the old ideas" [syn: waive]
3.	turn away from; give up; "I am foreswearing women forever" [syn: foreswear]
4.	release, as from one's grip; "Let go of the door handle, please!"; "relinquish your grip on the rope--you won't fall" [syn: let go of] [ant: hold]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
relinquish [rəˈliŋkwiʃ] verb

to give up
Example: The dictator was forced to relinquish control of the country.

Arabic:	يَتَخَلّى عن
Chinese (Simplified):	放弃
Chinese (Traditional):	放棄
Czech:	vzdát se
Danish:	give afkald på
Dutch:	opgeven
Estonian:	loobuma
Finnish:	luopua
French:	renoncer à
German:	aufgeben
Greek:	εγκαταλείπω, παραδίδω
Hungarian:	lemond (vmiről), felad
Icelandic:	gefa eftir; láta af hendi
Indonesian:	menyerahkan
Italian:	rinunciare a*

Japanese:	やめる
Korean:	포기하다, (손을) 놓다
Latvian:	atteikties; atmest
Lithuanian:	atsisakyti, atsižadėti
Norwegian:	oppgi, slippe, frafalle
Polish:	wyrzec się
Portuguese (Brazil):	renunciar a
Portuguese (Portugal):	renunciar a
Romanian:	a renunţa
Russian:	отказываться
Slovak:	vzdať sa
Slovenian:	odreči se
Spanish:	renunciar (a)
Swedish:	ge upp, lämna ifrån sig
Turkish:	bırakmak

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Relinquish

Der"e*lict\, a. [L. derelictus, p. p. of derelinquere to forsake wholly, to abandon; de- + relinquere to leave. See Relinquish.]

1. Given up or forsaken by the natural owner or guardian; left and abandoned; as, derelict lands.

The affections which these exposed or derelict children bear to their mothers, have no grounds of nature or assiduity but civility and opinion. --Jer. Taylor.

2. Lost; adrift; hence, wanting; careless; neglectful; unfaithful.

They easily prevailed, so as to seize upon the vacant, unoccupied, and derelict minds of his [Chatham's] friends; and instantly they turned the vessel wholly out of the course of his policy. --Burke.

A government which is either unable or unwilling to redress such wrongs is derelict to its highest duties. --J. Buchanan.

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