unloosev.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈluːs/, U.S. /ˌənˈlus/ 1.
a. transitive. To unfasten (a knot or other fastening); to undo, untie the fastenings of (an object). Cf. loose v. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > loosen, unfasten, or untie [verb (transitive)]
unbindc950
undoc950
unleeseOE
breaka1225
unfest?c1225
leesea1325
loosena1382
unloosea1382
loose1388
resolvea1398
unlace?c1400
unfastenc1440
unloosen?a1475
to let slip1526
unbrace?1526
diffibulatea1538
unframe1567
unclit1587
undight1590
unclip1598
unclenchc1600
unreeve1600
unlock1609
ungrapple1611
unquilt1611
abstringe1623
renode1623
unspan1648
unfast1684
disengage1780
undub1807
unclap1846
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxii.19 Ioynyng of tres, bounde togidere to the foundement of þe bilding, that shal not ben vnloosid [a1425 L.V. vnboundun; L. dissolvetur].
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1869) II. 43 Thei wylle vnloose [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. vnknette; L. evolvant] the knottes.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke iii. f. lxxvij Whose shue latchet I am nott worthy to vnloose [Gk. λῦσαι].
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 39 Then the bundels vnloosed and dryed in the Sunne, are beaten with beetelles.
1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 626 His Wifes toungue had ever a charm in readinesse to unloose his purse.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 103/2 A Water-Dog, is a round peece of Lead like a Ring: It is to unloose the Hookes if they be fastned at the bottom.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 153 He had then little to do, but to unloose the strings of my petticoat, and lift them.
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy III. viii. 25 Dr. Slop must have had three fifths of Job's patience..to have unloosed them [sc. knots].
1847 F. W. Newman Hist. Hebrew Monarchy viii. 272 To unloose the covering from his loins.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxii. 155 I now unloosed my scrip.
1936 A. Russell Gone Nomad vi. 45 I had unloosed the wrong tie rope, thereby dropping a coil of fencing wire on Brown's toes.
2008 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 24 Sept. 17 Drawstrings which allowed the pieces to be unloosed or tied haphazardly.
b. transitive. figurative and in figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Pv To confute, is nothyng els but..to vnlose by reason, thynges knit together by craft.
1642 W. Wishartt Immanuel 47 To unloose this riddle, let us look What Moses hath recorded.
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues 93 These Experiments indeed strike very strongly on the..senses, but there is a subtile Reason that presently unlooses all again.
1710 R. Ward Life H. More 116 Nothing can unloose the Sophistries of the selfish Animal Life, but [etc.].
1766 W. Cole Let. 26 Jan. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. IV. 487 To unloose all ties both civil and ecclesiastic.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. xiii. 257 There are other means of disengaging such ties, without unloosing the cords of life.
1887 C. Bell tr. G. Ebers Bride of Nile I. xii. 185 The spell that fettered her tongue was unloosed.
1947 H. H. Read in Origin Granite (Geol. Soc. Amer.) 1 We geologists are bound still closer to one another by devotion to our common science—nothing can unloose that tie.
2001 Sunday Express (Nexis) 12 Aug. 100 Ascot unloosed its stays for a day.
2. transitive. To relax, slacken (the body or a part of the body); to loosen (one's own or another's grip); to unclasp or cause to unclasp (the hands, arms, etc.); to let go. Also in figurative contexts. Cf. loose v. 6a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [verb (transitive)]
leesea1325
lithe1362
unloosec1390
relax?a1425
supple1526
supply1534
nimble1581
relaxate1598
lax1661
limber1748
unstiffen1855
untense1970
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. Prol. l. 87 Seriauns..Not for loue of vr lord vn-loseþ heore lippes ones.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvii. l. 139 Þe fader was fyrst, as a fyst with o fynger foldynge, Tyl hym loued and lest to vnlosen his fynger.
1540 R. Jonas tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde i. f. xliiii By that the bodye is opened, vnloosed, and resolued.
1564 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 200 And so, vnlosinge handes, they kissed.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 216 The weake wanton Cupid, Shall from your neck vnloose his amorous fould. View more context for this quotation
1660 J. Childrey Britannia Baconica 143 The Salmon..takes his tail in his mouth, and with all his force unloosing his circle on a sudden..he mounteth up.
1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera i. xiii. 18 My Hand, my Heart,..is so riveted to thine, that I cannot unloose my Hold.
1757 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances II. ccii. 70 Providence has wisely ordered, that Disappointments..should, by Degrees, unloose the Hold we take of this dim Spot.
1834 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Seine 35 He found it impossible to unloose her arms from his neck.
1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe I. xii. 211 Saying ‘Good night..,’ [she] unloosed her embrace.
1926 T. J. Wertenbaker Amer. People x. 167 To unloose from the neck of his party the grip of this ‘Old Man of the Sea’ [sc. the Federal judiciary].
2007 Times (Nexis) 6 Jan. 3 Almost as soon as I'd..unloosed my hands from their Auld Lang Syne dolly-chain, I started to consider what might be on my list of literary new year resolutions.
3.
a. transitive. To release (a person, animal, limb, etc.) from confinement or physical restraint; to free. Also (esp. in early use) in figurative contexts. Also intransitive. Cf. loose v. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (transitive)] > from confinement
unbindc950
to let freec1000
aletOE
to let out1154
loosea1225
slakec1374
loosen1382
to let goc1384
releasec1384
unloosec1400
unlockc1410
dissolvec1420
relievec1450
unloosen?a1475
to set at liberty1509
enlargea1513
to let at large1525
to let loose1530
to turn loose?1566
enfranchise1569
to turn up1573
enfranch1581
unkennel1589
unwind1596
to cast loosec1600
disimmure1611
disimprison1611
unhamper1620
to let abroad1633
unfold1633
disencloister1652
disencage1654
discagea1657
disincarcerate1665
eliminate1745
unspherea1806
unmew1818
unbottle1821
uncage1837
unbag1854
bust1921
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > free oneself [verb (reflexive)] > from confinement
unloose?1530
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. l. 198 Þat is þe lok of loue þat vnloseþ grace [B text c1400 Laud 581 lateth oute my grace].
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 181 (MED) Seynt Poul..coueitide to ben vnbounde and vnlosid from þe body.
a1500 Theophilus (Rawl. Poet. 225) in Englische Studien (1903) 32 19 Þou, lady, vnlose me of þo bondes Þat I wrot with myn owyn hondes.
?1530 tr. J. Colet Serm. Conuocacion Paulis ii. sig. Civv Vnlouse your selfe frome the worldlye bondage.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) v. i. 88 Then Yorke vnloose thy long imprisoned thoughts. View more context for this quotation
1655 tr. C. Sorel Comical Hist. Francion iii. 67 After she had unloosed and well washed me.
1664 Bp. J. Taylor Disswasive from Popery iii. i. 159 You can as well be dispenc'd with for that Perjury as the other; and you cannot be tied so fast, but the Pope can unloose you.
a1711 T. Ken Psyche v, in Wks. (1721) IV. 299 The Soul..seem'd from Flesh unloos'd To..spatiate unconfin'd.
1781 R. B. Sheridan Trip to Scarborough v. ii. 100 Unloose my Lord there, you scoundrels!
1851 H. Martineau Introd. Hist. Peace (1858) 144/1 The function of that new spirit was not to bind but to unloose.
1887 A. H. Layard Early Adventures Persia, Susiana, & Babylonia I. viii. 351 Throwing herself upon her son, [she] endeavoured to unloose his arms.
1913 G. Parker Lane that had no Turning 149 De colonel nod his head and say: ‘Unloose de men.’
1962 Life 23 Feb. 20/1 Her touching version of The Man That Got Away will unloose a nationwide flood of tears.
2004 Silver City (New Mexico) Sun-News (Nexis) 15 July 9 a One little old lady expressed that she didn't have the strength to unloose her dog.
b. transitive. To bring into operation or action; to let loose, unleash (esp. something violent or undesirable); also with on, upon. In later use also: to release (something constrained or pent up); to give vent to (an emotion, feeling, etc.); cf. loose v. 4c.With uses with the tongue as object, cf. sense 3a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (transitive)]
freeeOE
letc1000
alithOE
areim-ena1250
alaskic1300
fritha1325
loose1340
unfetterc1374
to let goc1384
releasec1384
freitha1400
to let farea1400
assoil1401
remit1467
affranchise1477
resplaitc1531
discussa1542
freedom1548
to set (go, walk, etc.) free1609
re-enfranchise1611
unhook1611
unloose1614
liberate1623
disenfranchise1626
assert1638
relinquish1671
uncork1749
unfankle1824
1614 Bp. W. Cowper Dikaiologie 82 This argument you vnloose not with your tongue, but your teeth, biting at that..which offends you, not answering it with reason.
1652 tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote (new ed.) iii. xiii. f. 64 I hoped that shee would..unloose her tongue to say some truth.
1735 J. Thomson Greece: 2nd Pt. Liberty 59 When mysterious Superstition came,..Then tyrant Power the righteous scourge unloos'd.
1775 J. Hoole Cleonice ii. i. 17 War again must soon unloose its rage.
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous v, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 318 Having unloosed his repartee to this extent.
1894 Forum Aug. 657 The anarchist often scorns dissimulation, and is often rendered incapable of it by the ferocity or exaltation that seems unloosed by his crime.
1914 G. B. Shaw Dark Lady of Sonnets Pref. in Misalliance 110 Wilde..miscalculated the force of the social vengeance he was unloosing on himself.
1975 E. F. Ziemke U.S. Army in Occup. Germany v. 52/2 The human flood thus unloosed would vastly overshadow the refugee problems of the British and French in 1940.
2012 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 16 Aug. 32/2 The CIA unloosed Kermit Roosevelt and his fellow American agents on Tehran to oust him.
4. transitive. To detach, esp. so as to get rid of something unwanted; to remove (from), to take off, take out. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > unfix
unloose?a1425
unfix1600
unmounta1680
strike1793
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 362 (MED) If he vnlose himsilf fro affeccioun..he is bounde of nede þat boþe in wille & in deede he schulde vse charite.
?a1450 (c1410) Dives & Pauper (Bodl. Th d.36) (1976) 77 Vnlowse so þi richessis from þee þat [etc.].
1555 R. Eden tr. G. F. de Oviedo y Valdés Summarie Gen. Hist. W. Indies in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 180 At which tyme they vnlose the stones, and ryse vppe at their pleasure.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. B4 That which they possesse They scatter and vnloose it from their bond. View more context for this quotation
1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. J. F. Senault Man become Guilty vi. iii. 335 God who would..teach us that accidents might be unloosened from their substance, did permit that the light might subsist without any subject.
1748 J. Hervey Medit. (ed. 4) I. 214 Those beneficent Hands, which were..stretched out to unloose the heavy Burthens.
1860 Sunday at Home 24 May 348/2 She had not yet unloosed it [sc. a locket] from the riband by which it was suspended from her neck.
1974 M. Medoff & C. Johnson Odyssey Jeremy Jack 6 I wonder how that young lady there would look if she were to unloose her nose or give up three of her ten toes.
5. intransitive. To become loose or detached; to loosen, slacken.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > be loosened, unfastened, or undone [verb (intransitive)]
unfastenc1315
unknitc1330
unloose1580
untie1590
loose1770
unbind1827
1580 M. Outred tr. M. Cope Godly & Learned Expos. Prouerbes Solomon (iii. 3) f. 31v A yoake that is put on the necke of Oxen, and fast bounde that it vnloose not.
1694 J. Collier Misc. v. 62 Without this Virtue the publick Union must unloose.
1744 J. Miller Mahomet i. 52 What cloud is this That thwarts upon my sight? My head grows dizzy, My joints unloose: sure 'tis the stroke of Fate.
1833 Magnolia 5 Oct. 15/1 If it will not unloose, it must be cut in twain.
1907 Toronto Mag. Mar. 463/2 The arms would not unloose and with eyes of mute wonder the fox felt himself lifted with the child.
2016 Irish Times (Nexis) 26 Jan. (Health section) 13 When something goes wrong..all limbs unloose in an effort to stay afloat/get to shore.
Derivatives
unˈlooser n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > [noun] > one who or that which
unlooser1614
loosener1843
looser1871
ungrappler1891
1614 S. Jerome Moses his Sight of Canaan 328 Death..is not onely a curber of Sinne, but a curer of Crosses, an vnlooser from labours.
1847 D. M. Mulock in Dublin Univ. Mag. June 692/1 Thus let us think of thee, O Death; gentle unlooser of life's burthen.
1925 K. S. Guthrie Mithraic Myst. iv. 69 He is Unlooser of every Problem's Knot.
1996 P. Schmidt Winter Solstice 33 Unloose me, my only unlooser, and shoot me into this star-defiled sky.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
v.a1382