verbverb

relâcher

release · relax

Definition & meaning

The verb relâcher has several meanings depending on the context:

To release or set free: This refers to letting someone or something go, such as releasing a prisoner from jail or letting an animal back into the wild.
To loosen or slacken: This refers to making something less tight. For example, loosening a rope, a knot, or a belt.
To relax or ease up: In a physiological or figurative sense, it means to reduce tension in muscles or to decrease the intensity of an effort or a period of strictness.
To broadcast or re-release (media): In some contexts, it can refer to the act of issuing or releasing a film, a record, or an update to the public.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar:

Relâcher is a regular verb of the first group (-er).
It is a transitive verb (it takes a direct object) but can also be used reflexively (se relâcher) to mean "to become slack," "to lose one's discipline," or "to relax."

Origin: The word is derived from the Old French relascher, which comes from the Vulgar Latin relaxare, a combination of the prefix re- (again/back) and laxare (to loosen/slack), which itself comes from laxus (loose).