ease
verbEtymology
From Middle English ese, eise, aise, from Anglo-Norman ese (“ease”), from Old French eise, aise (“elbow room; opportunity”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Apparently related to Provençal ais, Italian agio and asio, Sicilian aciu and Portuguese azo. Sometimes ascribed to Vulgar Latin *āsia or *āsium, possibly from Latin ānsa (“handle, haft”) or Frankish *ansiju (“handle, loophole, eyelet; cup-handle; arms akimbo, elbow room”), but more often derived from Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), from Latin adjacēns (“adjacent, neighbouring”), present participle of adjaceō (“lie next to, border on”), though the forms and senses are difficult to trace clearly. Alternatively, possibly from a non-Latin source such as Germanic or Celtic on the basis of the conflicting forms which appear in various Romance languages. Compare Old English īeþe (“easy”), Gothic 𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐌹 (azēti, “ease; pleasure”), *𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*azēts, “easy”), Breton eaz, ez (“easy”), Irish adhais (“easy; leisure”). See also eath. The verb is from Middle English esen, ultimately of the same origin.
10 senses
- 1To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
- 2To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).
- 3To give respite to (someone).
- 4To loosen or slacken the tension on a line.
- 5To reduce the difficulty of (something).
- 6To move (something) slowly and carefully.
- 7To lessen in intensity.
- 8To proceed with little effort.
- 9To reduce speed.
- 10To take something from (a person), especially by robbery.
To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
- He eased his conscience by confessing.
- And ſure, although it was invented to eaſe his mynde of griefe, there be a number of caveats therein to forewarne other young gentlemen to foreſtand with good government their folowing yl fortunes; […]1576, George Whetstone, “The Ortchard of Repentance: […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, […], London: […] [H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of Regard, […] (Illustrations of Early English Poetry; vol. 2, no. 2), London: Privately printed, [1867?], →OCLC, page 291:
1 more example
- Elyse Saugstad, a professional skier, wore a backpack equipped with an air bag, a relatively new and expensive part of the arsenal that backcountry users increasingly carry to ease their minds and increase survival odds in case of an avalanche.2012 December 26, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2013:
To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).
- Sunny / Yesterday my life was filled with rain / Sunny / You smiled at me and really eased the pain1976, Boney M., “Sunny”, in Take the Heat off Me:
To give respite to (someone).
- The provision of extra staff eased their workload.
- An extra rush-hour train has eased overcrowding of the former 5.39 p.m. to Salisbury; this now leaves at 5.43 and an additional electric service to Alton departs at 5.39 p.m.1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, pages 593–594:
- We eased the boom vang, then lowered the sail.
To reduce the difficulty of (something).
- We had to ease the entry requirements.
- I want to thank you all for easing my coming out.1974 April 6, 'Paul', “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 8:
To move (something) slowly and carefully.
- He eased the cork from the bottle.
- Ease down off boulders; a jump may jar or sprain.1915 April 23, Enos A. Mills, “Going to the Top”, in The Rocky Mountain Wonderland, Houghton Mifflin, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 18:
1 more example
- Giant oil-tankers can often be seen easing up and down Milford Haven, where a vast new port has been developed since the late 1950s.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 141:
To lessen in intensity.
- The pain eased overnight.
To proceed with little effort.
- The car eased onto the motorway.
To reduce speed.
- But from Northallerton No. 46143 reached 65½ m.p.h. by Otterington, 73 by Thirsk, 79½ by Pilmoor, and 82½ by Alne and was still accelerating when it was decided on the footplate that the train was getting too much ahead of time—and no wonder, with 40 min. allowed for the level 30.0 miles from Northallerton to York!—so that the engine was drastically eased.1958 December 23, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 852:
- "There's no other traffic on this line. We are 20 minutes ahead of time, so I'm easing back," says Waddicor as he approaches the crossing of HS2.2025 August 20, Paul Clifton, “A driver's eye view of East West Rail”, in RAIL, number 1042, page 33:
- Coming up to the thief they eased him of his late acquisitions, which Redmond, restoring to the right owner, bound him over to prosecute the robber at the next assizes.1865, The Dublin University Magazine, volume 66, page 158:
- So I tucked my violin under my arm, and sallied out after the old budgy ragman, determined to ease him of his load at the very first lonesome corner I could track him to.1876, The Shamrock, volume 14:
- Synonyms
- assuage, salve, allay, alleviate, lessen, reduce, give someone a break, lay off, loosen, relax, slacken, facilitate, simplify, cruise
- Derived terms
- ease down, ease off, ease oneself, ease one's mind, easer, ease up