lask

L1A1S1K5
UK/lɑːsk/US/læsk/

verb

To have loose bowels; to suffer from diarrhoea.

OriginMiddle English lasken ← Old Northern French *lasquer ← Old French lascher →
RareScrabble 8
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Meanings

lask1

verblask (third-person singular simple present lasks, present participle lasking, simple past and past participle lasked)

present singular third person lasks · participle present lasking · participle past lasked · past lasked · alternative laske

  1. intransitiveobsoleteTo have loose bowels; to suffer from diarrhoea.

lask2

adjectivelask (comparative more lask, superlative most lask)

comparative more lask · superlative most lask

  1. obsoleteLax, weak; specifically of the bowels: affected by diarrhoea; loose.

lask3

nounlask (countable and uncountable, plural lasks)

plural lasks · alternative laske

  1. uncountablebiologyOriginally of both persons and animals, now only of animals: looseness of the bowels; diarrhoea; (countable) a bout of this ailment.

    Pannick ſtoppeth the laske as Millet doth, being boiled (as Plinie reporteth) in Goates milk and drunke twiſe in a day.

    1597, John Gerarde [i.e., John Gerard], “Of Panick”, in The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. […], London: […] Edm[und] Bollifant, for Bonham and Iohn Norton, →OCLC, book I, page 79
    2 more examples

    A graue & learned Miniſter, and an ordinary Preacher at Alcmar in Holland, was one day (as hee was walking in the fields for his recreation) ſuddenly taken with a laske or looſeneſſe, and therevpon compelled to retire to the next ditch; but being ſurpriſed at vnawares, by ſome Gentlewomen of his Pariſh wandering that way; was ſo abaſhed, that hee did neuer after ſhew his head in publike, or come into the Pulpit, but pined away with melancholy: […]

    1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Shame and Disgrace, Causes”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 2, member 3, subsection 6, page 88

    The Emulſion or Decoction of the Seed ſtaieth Lasks and continual Fluxes, eaſeth the Chollick, and allayeth the troubleſom Humors in the Bowels, […]

    1652, Nich[olas] Culpeper, “Hemp”, in The English Physitian: Or An Astrologo-physical Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs of This Nation. […], London: […] Peter Cole, […], →OCLC, page 64, column 1

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
diarrhea

Origin

lask · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)leg-
  2. Latinlaxāre
  3. Latin*laxicāre
  4. Vulgar Latin*lascāre
  5. Old Frenchlascher
  6. Old Northern French*lasquer
  7. Middle Englishlasken“to diminish, weaken (the blood or other body fluids, body tissues, etc.); to thin (the blood through bloodletting); to alleviate (pain, sickness); to grow weak; to shorten (one’s life)”
  8. Englishlask

From Middle English lasken (“to diminish, weaken (the blood or other body fluids, body tissues, etc.); to thin (the blood through bloodletting); to alleviate (pain, sickness); to grow weak; to shorten (one’s life)”) [and other forms], from Old Northern French *lasquer, Old French lascher, laschier (“to let go of, release; to loosen, relax”) (modern French lâcher (“to let go of, release; to loosen”)), from Vulgar Latin *lascāre, *lassicāre, from Latin *laxicāre, the frequentative of Latin laxāre, the present active infinitive of laxō (“to relax, weaken; to release, undo; to make wide, open”), from laxus (“free, loose, slack; roomy, spacious, wide”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leg-, *(s)leh₁g- (“faint; weak”).

More words from Middle English, Old Northern French, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

lask · adjective

  1. Old Frenchlascher
  2. Old Frenchlaske
  3. Old Northern French*lasque
  4. Middle Englishlaske“lax, weak; of the bowels: loose”
  5. Englishlask

From Middle English laske (“lax, weak; of the bowels: loose”), from Old Northern French *lasque, Old French laske, lasche (“not taut or tight, limp”) (modern French lâche (“loose, slack”)), from Old French lascher, laschier (“to let go of, release; to loosen, relax”): see further at etymology 1.

More words from Middle English, Old Northern French, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

lask · noun

From the adjective: see etymology 2.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with lask

asktaskmaskbasqueflaskunmaskcaskmasquebaskmasccasquepaschpasqueabaskChannel-Port aux BasquesNaskhPort aux Basques
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Salk
Cite this entry
APA

lask. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lask

MLA

“lask.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lask. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lask,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lask.

Source: lask on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.