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Webster 1913 Edition

Loose

Loose

(loōs)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Looser
(loōs′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Loosest
.]
[OE.
loos
,
lous
,
laus
, Icel.
lauss
; akin to OD.
loos
, D. los, AS.
leás
false, deceitful, G.
los
, loose, Dan. & Sw.
lös
, Goth.
laus
, and E.
lose
. √127. See
Lose
, and cf.
Leasing
falsehood.]
1.
Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined;
as, the
loose
sheets of a book
.
Her hair, nor
loose
, nor tied in formal plat.
Shakespeare
2.
Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; – with from or of.
Now I stand
Loose
of my vow; but who knows Cato’s thoughts ?
Addison.
3.
Not tight or close;
as, a
loose
garment
.
4.
Not dense, close, compact, or crowded;
as, a cloth of
loose
texture
.
With horse and chariots ranked in
loose
array.
Milton.
5.
Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate;
as, a
loose
style, or way of reasoning
.
The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a
loose
analogy than as an exact scientific explanation.
Whewel.
6.
Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.
The
loose
morality which he had learned.
Sir W. Scott.
7.
Unconnected; rambling.
Vario spends whole mornings in running over
loose
and unconnected pages.
I. Watts.
8.
Lax; not costive; having lax bowels.
Locke.
9.
Dissolute; unchaste;
as, a
loose
man or woman
.
Loose
ladies in delight.
Spenser.
10.
Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language;
as, a
loose
epistle
.
Dryden.
At loose ends
,
not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed.
–
Fast and loose
.
See under
Fast
.
–
To break loose
.
See under
Break
.
–
Loose pulley
.
(Mach.)
See
Fast and loose pulleys
, under
Fast
.
–
To let loose
,
to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.

Loose

,
Noun.
1.
Freedom from restraint.
[Obs.]
Prior.
2.
A letting go; discharge.
B. Jonson.
To give a loose
,
to give freedom.
Vent all its griefs, and
give a loose
to sorrow.
Addison.

Loose

(loōs)
,
Verb.
Noun.
[
imp. & p. p.
Loosed
(loōst)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Loosing
.]
[From
Loose
,
Adj.
]
1.
To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.
Canst thou . . .
loose
the bands of Orion ?
Job. xxxviii. 31.
Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her;
loose
them, and bring them unto me.
Matt. xxi. 2.
2.
To release from anything obligatory or burdensome; to disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.
Art thou
loosed
from a wife ? seek not a wife.
1 Cor. vii. 27.
Whatsoever thou shalt
loose
on earth shall be
loosed
in heaven.
Matt. xvi. 19.
3.
To relax; to loosen; to make less strict.
The joints of his loins were
loosed
.
Dan. v. 6.
4.
To solve; to interpret.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Loose

,
Verb.
I.
To set sail.
[Obs.]
Acts xiii. 13.

Webster 1828 Edition

Loose

LOOSE

,
Verb.
T.
loos. [Gr.; Heb.]
1.
To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening.
Canst thou loose the bands of Orion? Job 38.
Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them to me. Matt. 21.
2.
To relax.
The joints of his loins were loosed. Dan. 5.
3.
To release from imprisonment; to liberate; to set at liberty.
The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed. Is. 51.
4.
To free from obligation.
Art thou loosed from a wife? see not a wife. 1Cor. 7.
5.
To free from any thing that binds or shackles; as a man loosed from lust and pelf.
6.
To relieve; to free from any thing burdensome or afflictive.
Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. Luke 42.
7.
To disengage; to detach; as, to loose one's hold.
8.
To put off.
Loose thy shoe from off thy foot. Josh. 5.
9.
To open.
Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? Rev. 5.
10.
To remit; to absolve.
Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. Matt. 16.

LOOSE

,
Verb.
I.
To set sail; to leave a port or harbor.
Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga, in Pamphylia. Acts 42.

LOOSE

, a.
1.
Unbound; untied; unsewed; not fastened or confined; as the loose sheets of a book.
2.
Not tight or close; as a loose garment.
3.
Not crowded; not close or compact.
With horse and chariots rank'd in loose array.
4.
Not dense, close or compact; as a cloth or fossil of loose texture.
5.
Not close; not concise; lax; as a loose and diffuse style.
6.
Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as a loose way of reasoning.
7.
Not strict or rigid; as a loose observance of rites.
8.
Unconnected; rambling; as a loose indigested play.
Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages.
9.
Of lax bowels.
10.
Unengaged; not attached or enslaved.
Their prevailing principle is, to sit as loose from pleasures, and be as moderate in the use of them as they can.
11.
Disengaged; free from obligation; with from or of.
Now I stand loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thought? [Little used.]
12.
Wanton; unrestrained in behavior; dissolute; unchaste; as a loose man or woman.
13.
Containing unchaste language; as a loose epistle.
To break loose, to escape from confinement; to gain liberty by violence.
To let loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.

LOOSE

,
Noun.
Freedom from restraint; liberty.
Come, give thy soul a loose.
Vent all its griefs, and give a loose to sorrow.
We use this word only in the phrase, give a loose. The following use of it, 'he runs with an unbounded loose,' is obsolete.

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