Relinquere

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To voluntarily give up possession, control, or claim to something; to abandon or surrender one's rights, duties, or interests; to let go or release something held or owned
2. To cease holding, maintaining, or keeping something by choice; to renounce responsibility, authority, or entitlement over an object or position; to forsake or quit a claim or control
3. To withdraw from or desist in maintaining something held previously; to cede control, ownership, or involvement aggressively or passively; to yield or deliver up something to another's possession or jurisdiction

Etymology: Relinquere is the Latin verb meaning "to leave behind" or "to let go," built from the prefix "re-" (back, behind) and "linquere" ("to leave"). The root "linquere" also gives English "relic," which comes via Old French "relique" from the Latin plural "reliquiae," literally "remains" or "things left behind." The same idea of leaving something behind, rather than retrieving it, sits underneath "relinquish." English borrowed the verb itself, as "relinquish," in the 15th century, and its earliest uses were close to Latin: to abandon a place, a claim, or a habit. The sense "give up control" developed from that idea of letting go. Roman legal and everyday speech used the verb for surrendering rights and possessions, so the modern meaning is a short step from the original.

Synonyms: relinquish, leave, forsake, abandon, cede

Antonyms: keep, retain, hold, maintain, claim