Release

How to spell release

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce release

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does release mean?

1. verbTo set someone or something free, or to allow something to move, be made public, or be let go.
2. nounThe act of setting something free or making it public, or a thing that has been made available such as a film, record, or statement.

Release in a sentence

• verb

  The prison agreed to release him three months early for good behaviour.

• noun

  The studio scheduled the release of the film for early December.

• verb

  The company plans to release its new software update next week.

• noun

  The prisoner's release depended on the parole board's decision.

Where does release come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word travels back to the Latin verb relaxare, which meant 'to loosen' or 'to stretch out again', formed from the prefix re- (back, again) joined to laxare, 'to loosen', itself from laxus meaning 'loose' or 'slack'. In Old French this became relaisser or relesser, carrying the sense of letting go, slackening, or giving up a claim, and English borrowed it in the 1300s. Early uses leaned on the legal idea of surrendering a right or freeing someone from an obligation, which is why we still 'release' a person from a contract today. The very same Latin laxus gave English the more relaxed-sounding word 'relax', and the connection to loosening is a handy reminder that release literally means to let something slacken or set it loose. The single 's' before the final silent 'e' is the spelling point worth noting, since the soft ending can tempt writers toward a double letter.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• -lease (from Latin laxare, to loosen)