English Explanatory Dictionary

lax

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A salmon.
adj
  1. Lenient and allowing for deviation; not strict.
  2. Loose; not tight or taut.
  3. Lacking care; neglectful, negligent.
  4. Describing an associative monoidal functor.
  5. Having a looseness of the bowels; diarrheal.
  6. (of a vowel) Produced with relatively little constriction of the vocal tract.
noun
  1. lacrosse.
noun
  1. Clipping of laxative.
name
  1. Los Angeles International Airport
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/læks/ en-us-lax.ogg en-au-lax.ogg

Word forms

lax laxes laxer laxest

Etymology

From Middle English lax, from Old English leax (“salmon”), from Proto-West Germanic *lahs (“salmon”), from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz (“salmon”), from Proto-Indo-European *laḱs- (“salmon, trout”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lacks, lachs, lasche (“salmon”), Middle Low German las (“salmon”), German Lachs (“salmon”), Norwegian laks (“salmon”), Danish laks (“salmon”), Swedish lax (“salmon”), Icelandic lax (“salmon”), Lithuanian lašišà (“salmon”), Latvian lasis, Russian лосо́сь (losósʹ, “salmon”), Albanian leshterik (“eel-grass”). Doublet of lox.

Synonyms

permissive lenient relaxed clement easygoing forbearing indulgent lax loose-handed permissible remissful safe soft soft-handed loose slack blameworthy lash negligent remiss reprehensible

Antonyms

strict taut tight

Related words

gravlax lox laxity leash relax release ex-lax fish

Derived words

laxfisher laxative laxed laxing laxism laxist laxly laxness lax up lax vowel overlax lax bro
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