Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Relinquish

Re-lin′quish

(-kw?sh)
,
Verb.
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[GREEK]ar; forego. See
Resign
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Relinquish

RELIN'QUISH

,
Verb.
T.
[L. relinquo, re and linquo, to leave, to fail or faint; from the same root as liqueo, liquo, to melt or dissolve, deliquium, a fainting. Hence the sense is to withdraw or give way; to relinquish is to recede from.]
1.
To withdraw from; to leave; to quit. It may be to forsake or abandon, but it does not necessarily express the sense of the latter. A man may relinquish an enterprise for a time, or with a design never to resume it. In general, to relinquish is to leave without the intention of resuming, and equivalent to forsake, but is less emphatical than abandon and desert.
They placed Irish tenants on the lands relinquished by the English.
2.
To forbear; to withdraw from; as, to relinquish the practice of intemperance; to relinquish the rites of a church.
3.
To give up; to renounce a claim to; as, to relinquish a debt.
To relinquish back, or to, to give up; to release; to surrender; as, to relinquish a claim to another.

Definition 2024

relinquish

relinquish

English

Verb

relinquish ‎(third-person singular simple present relinquishes, present participle relinquishing, simple past and past participle relinquished)

  1. (transitive) To give up, abandon or retire from something. To trade away.
    to relinquish a title
    to relinquish property
    to relinquish rights
    to relinquish citizenship or nationality
  2. (transitive) To let go (free, away), physically release.
  3. (transitive) To metaphorically surrender, yield control or possession.
    • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France
      But it was the most fleeting of false dawns. Dmitri Yachvilli slotted a penalty from distance after Flood failed to release his man on the deck, and France took a grip they would never relinquish.
  4. (transitive) To accept to give up, withdraw etc.
    The delegations saved the negotiations by relinquishing their incompatible claims to sole jurisdiction

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English relinquisshen, from the inflected stem relinquiss- of Middle French relinquir, from Latin relinquere, itself from re- + linquere ‎(“to leave”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɹɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃ]

Similar Results