Etymology

relaxed

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Today it means: Made slack or feeble; weak, soft. Full definition →

First used 15th c.Latin relaxātus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromrelaxātus
  2. English todayrelaxed

From relax + -ed, originally after Latin relaxātus.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 15th c. Made slack or feeble; weak, soft.
  • from 17th c. Made more lenient; less strict; lax.
  • from 18th c. Free from tension or anxiety; at ease; leisurely.
  • from 19th c. Without physical tension; in a state of equilibrium.
  • from 19th c. Of a muscle: soft, not tensed.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.