Remits

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

  1. To send money or payment in settlement of a debt | To cancel or refrain from exacting, especially a punishment or penalty | The act of transferring or assigning a commitment or responsibility to another party
  2. To send funds as a payment for an obligation | To refrain from enforcing a punishment or obligation | To delegate a duty or responsibility to someone else
  3. To transfer funds as payment for a debt | To excuse or forgo the enforcement of penalties | To assign a task or obligation to another individual or group

Etymology: The verb form traces back to the Latin "remittere," which means "to send back" or "to relax." This Latin term itself combines "re-" meaning "back" and "mittere," meaning "to send." In English, the verb began to appear around the late Middle Ages, initially carrying the sense of sending something back, such as a message or payment. Over time, its meaning expanded to include the idea of lessening or relaxing, as in "to remit pain" or "to remit a punishment." As a noun, it emerged in legal and financial contexts, referring to the specific act of sending payment or the sum sent. This usage became more common with the rise of organized commerce and banking from the 16th century onwards, when correspondence and money transfers required precise terminology. The noun form retains the sense of a particular instance or amount of remission or sending back. Interestingly, the shift from a purely physical sending back to a more abstract sense of forgiveness or reduction, especially in financial or judicial matters, shows how the word's meaning broadened. This semantic expansion reflects how language adapts to societal needs, turning concrete actions into concepts like pardon or debt cancellation. Thus, the term encapsulates a range of related ideas from literal dispatching to figurative easing or excusing, illustrating a common pathway in English vocabulary where physical actions evolve into abstract notions.

Synonyms: transfers, sends, forwards, dispatches, conveys