3. Discharge from obligation or responsibility, as from debt, penalty,
or claim of any kind; acquittance.
4. (Law) A giving up or relinquishment of some right or claim; a
conveyance of a man's right in lands or tenements to another who has
some estate in possession; a quitclaim. Blackstone.
5. (Steam Engine) The act of opening the exhaust port to allow the
steam to escape.
Lease and release. (Law) See under Lease. -- Out of release, without
cessation. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Syn. -- Liberation; freedom; discharge. See Death.
Re*leas`ee" (-?"), n. One to whom a release is given.
Re*lease"ment (r?-l?s"ment), n. The act of releasing, as from
confinement or obligation. Milton.
Re*leas"er (-?r), n. One who releases, or sets free.
Re*leas"or (-?r), n. One by whom a release is given.
Rel"e*gate (r?l"?-g?t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relegated (-g?`t?d); p. pr.
& vb. n. Relegating.] [L. relegatus, p. p. of relegare; pref. re- re- +
legare to send with a commission or charge. See Legate.] To remove,
usually to an inferior position; to consign; to transfer; specifically,
to send into exile; to banish.
It [the Latin language] was relegated into the study of the
scholar.
Milman.
Rel`e*ga"tion (-g?"sh?n), n. [L. relegatio: cf. F. relégation.] The act
of relegating, or the state of being relegated; removal; banishment;
exile.
Re*lent" (r?-l?nt"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Relented; p. pr. & vb. n.
Relenting.] [F. ralentir, fr. L. pref. re- re- + ad to + lentus pliant,
flexible, slow. See Lithe.] 1. To become less rigid or hard; to yield;
to dissolve; to melt; to deliquesce. [Obs.]
He stirred the coals till relente gan The wax again the fire.
Chaucer.
[Salt of tartar] placed in a cellar will . . . begin to relent.
Boyle.
When opening buds salute the welcome day, And earth, relenting,
feels the genial ray.
Pope.
2. To become less severe or intense; to become less hard, harsh, cruel,
or the like; to soften in temper; to become more mild and tender; to
feel compassion.
Can you . . . behold My sighs and tears, and will not once relent?
Shak.