Join free

lask

English

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

lask¹

  • /lɑːsk/ UK
  • /læsk/ US

Rhymes with -æsk, -ɑːsk

Where it comes from

From Middle English lasken (“to diminish, weaken (the blood or other body fluids, body tissues, etc.); to thin (the blood through bloodletting); to alleviate (pain, sickness); to grow weak; to shorten (one’s life)”) [and other forms], from Old Northern French *lasquer, Old French lascher, laschier (“to let go of, release; to loosen, relax”) (modern French lâcher (“to let go of, release; to loosen”)), from Vulgar Latin *lascāre, *lassicāre, from Latin *laxicāre, the frequentative of Latin laxāre, the present active infinitive of laxō (“to relax, weaken; to release, undo; to make wide, open”), from laxus (“free, loose, slack; roomy, spacious, wide”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leg-, *(s)leh₁g- (“faint; weak”).

verb lasks · lasking · lasked · laske

  1. intransitive, obsolete To have loose bowels; to suffer from diarrhoea.

lask²

  • /lɑːsk/ UK
  • /læsk/ US

Rhymes with -æsk, -ɑːsk

Where it comes from

From Middle English laske (“lax, weak; of the bowels: loose”), from Old Northern French *lasque, Old French laske, lasche (“not taut or tight, limp”) (modern French lâche (“loose, slack”)), from Old French lascher, laschier (“to let go of, release; to loosen, relax”): see further at etymology 1.

adjective more lask · most lask

  1. obsolete Lax, weak; specifically of the bowels: affected by diarrhoea; loose.

lask³

  • /lɑːsk/ UK
  • /læsk/ US

Rhymes with -æsk, -ɑːsk

Where it comes from

From the adjective: see etymology 2.

noun lasks · laske

  1. uncountable Originally of both persons and animals, now only of animals: looseness of the bowels; diarrhoea; (countable) a bout of this ailment. Pannick ſtoppeth the laske as Millet doth, being boiled (as Plinie reporteth) in Goates milk and drunke twiſe in a day.

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"lask." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lask. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lask. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lask

Chicago

"lask." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lask.

BibTeX
@misc{lask_2026,
  title = {lask},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lask},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}