Releasees

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who are granted permission to leave a facility, particularly in a legal or institutional context
2. persons who are set free from confinement or restrictions
3. individuals who are made available for public or social interaction after being held under certain conditions

Etymology: "Releasees" is the plural of "releasee," a noun for a person who has been set free. The word is built from "release" with the suffix "-ee," which in English forms nouns for people who are the recipients of an action, as in "employee," "addressee," or "trainee." So a releasee is someone on the receiving end of a release, whether from prison, from a hospital, or from some other form of confinement. The "-ee" suffix came into English through Anglo-Norman French, where the ending "-é" marked the person receiving an action, and English adopted it freely over the centuries to form new words. "Release" itself came into English from Old French "relaissier," meaning to leave behind or let go, and it shows the same root as "relinquish." The combination gives a plain, transparent formation, and the word's meaning follows directly from its parts.