absolve
See also: absolvé
English
Etymology
First attested in the early 15th Century. From Middle English absolven, from Latin absolvere, present active infinitive of absolvō (“set free, acquit”), from ab (“away from”) + solvō (“loosen, free, release”).
Pronunciation
Verb
absolve (third-person singular simple present absolves, present participle absolving, simple past and past participle absolved)
- (transitive) To set free, release or discharge (from obligations, debts, responsibility etc.). [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][1]
- You will absolve a subject from his allegiance.
- 1855, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume III:
- Halifax was absolved by a majority of fourteen.
- (transitive, obsolete) To resolve; to explain; to solve. [Attested from the late 15th century until the mid 17th century.][1]
- 1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, lines 331-332,
- […] he that can monsters tame, laboures atchive, riddles absolve […]
- 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, page x:
- We shall not absolve the doubt.
- 1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, lines 331-332,
- (transitive) To pronounce free from or give absolution for a penalty, blame, or guilt. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][1]
- (transitive, law) To pronounce not guilty; to grant a pardon for. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][1]
- 1807, w:Alexander Pope, The Odyssey by Homer (English translation):
- Absolves the just, and dooms the guilty souls.
-
- (transitive, theology) To grant a remission of sin; to give absolution to. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][1]
- 1597, w:William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 5:
- To make confession and to be absolved.
-
- (transitive, theology) To remit a sin; to give absolution for a sin. [First attested in the late 16th century.][1]
- 1782, Edward Gibbon, History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, volume VI:
- In his name I absolve your perjury and sanctify your arms.
-
- (transitive, obsolete) To finish; to accomplish. [Attested from the late 16th century until the early 19th century.][1]
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:, line 94
- and the work begun, how soon absolv’d,
-
- (transitive) To pass a course or test; to gain credit for a class; to qualify academically.
Usage notes
- (to set free, release from obligations): Normally followed by the word from.
- (to pronounce free from; give absolution for blame): Normally followed by the word from.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
▼ <a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:English_terms_derived_from_the_PIE_root_*lewh%E2%82%83-' title='Category:English terms derived from the PIE root *lewh₃-'>English terms derived from the PIE root *lewh₃-</a> (0 c, 16 e)
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/abluent' title='abluent'>abluent</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/absolute' title='absolute'>absolute</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/absolution' title='absolution'>absolution</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/absolve' title='absolve'>absolve</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/dissoluble' title='dissoluble'>dissoluble</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/dissolute' title='dissolute'>dissolute</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/dissolution' title='dissolution'>dissolution</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/dissolve' title='dissolve'>dissolve</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/dissolvent' title='dissolvent'>dissolvent</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/exolve' title='exolve'>exolve</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/resolute' title='resolute'>resolute</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/resolution' title='resolution'>resolution</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/resolve' title='resolve'>resolve</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/solute' title='solute'>solute</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/solution' title='solution'>solution</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/solve' title='solve'>solve</a>
Translations
to set free
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obsolete: to resolve or explain
to pronounce free or give absolution
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law: to pronounce not guilty; to grant a pardon for
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theology: to pronounce free or give absolution from sin
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theology: to remit a sin; to give absolution for a sin
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obsolete: to finish, accomplish
to pass a course or test; to gain credit for a class; to qualify academically
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
References
- “absolve” in Lesley Brown, editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 9.
Latin
Portuguese
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