relinquish

[ ri-ling-kwish ]

/ rɪˈlɪŋ kwɪʃ /

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verb (used with object)

to renounce or surrender (a possession, right, etc.): to relinquish the throne.

to give up; put aside or desist from: to relinquish a plan.

to let go; release: to relinquish one's hold.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of relinquish

1425–75; late Middle English relinquissen, relinquisshen < Middle French relinquiss-, long stem of relinquir ≪ Latin relinquere to leave behind, equivalent to re- re- + linquere to leave (akin to lend)

SYNONYMS FOR relinquish

2 yield, cede, waive, forego, abdicate, leave, quit, forswear, desert, resign. See abandon¹.

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Related forms

re·lin·quish·er, nounre·lin·quish·ment, nounnon·re·lin·quish·ment, nounun·re·lin·quished, adjective

un·re·lin·quish·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for relinquishment

The rate of relinquishment for women of color has traditionally remained low.
Why Is the Mormon Church Getting Out of the Adoption Business?|Kathryn Joyce|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Commons treated the King's refusal to act with them as a relinquishment of his power to Parliament.
Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed.|S. A. Reilly
I know it is requesting so much of you to ask your relinquishment of this first dance with me to-night.
Bob Hampton of Placer|Randall Parrish
They pointed out among other things that his relinquishment of pecuniary profit in his books was apparent, not real.
Prophets of Dissent|Otto Heller

Unhappily the relinquishment of the Iowa country had not been free from a strong suspicion of wrongs done the Indians.
The Spirit Lake Massacre|Thomas Teakle
Though the poet afterwards gives us to understand that even in this relinquishment of art there was a more refined artifice.
Characteristics of Women|Anna Jameson

British Dictionary definitions for relinquishment

relinquish

/ (rɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃ) /

verb (tr)

to give up (a task, struggle, etc); abandon

to surrender or renounce (a claim, right, etc)

to release; let go

Derived Formsrelinquisher, nounrelinquishment, noun

Word Origin for relinquish

C15: from French relinquir, from Latin relinquere to leave behind, from re- + linquere to leave

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for relinquishment

relinquish

mid-15c., "desert, abandon;" late 15c., "give up, desist," from Old French relinquiss-, present participle stem of relinquir (12c.), from Latin relinquere "leave behind, forsake, abandon, give up," from re- "back" (see re-) + linquere "to leave," from PIE *linkw-, from root *leikw- "to leave behind" (cf. Sanskrit reknas "inheritance, wealth," rinakti "leaves;" Greek leipein "to leave;" Gothic leihvan, Old English lænan "to lend;" Old High German lihan "to borrow;" Old Norse lan "loan"). Related: Relinquished; relinquishing.