Uncoil

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ʌnˈkɔɪəl/

Definitions

1. To relax or free an item that has been tightly wrapped, causing it to extend into its usual form
2. To untwist or loosen something that was previously curled, allowing it to display its full length or shape
3. To unravel or release something that has been coiled or twisted, permitting it to revert to its original, extended configuration

Etymology: "Uncoil" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-" added to "coil," meaning to loop or wind something into a spiral. Both parts are English. The "un-" prefix, which reverses or undoes an action, goes back to Old English "on-," the same root that also produced the preposition "on" and the older "and-" sense of "against" or "opposite." In Old English it carried a sense of reversal, so attaching it to a verb meant undoing that verb's action. "Coil" itself came into English from Old French "coillir," meaning to gather or collect, and it is the older word that gives "uncoil" its sense of unwinding a spiral. Putting the two together produced a verb for reversing a tight loop, so that a rope, spring or hose returns to its extended form. The word is a simple combination of existing English parts rather than a borrowing, which is why it is easy to read at a glance.

Synonyms: unwrap, release, relax, loosen, untwist

Antonyms: coil, twist, wrap, bind, tighten