lask

Meanings

Verb

• To have loose bowels; to suffer from diarrhoea.

Adjective

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

Noun

• Originally of both persons and animals, now only of animals: looseness of the bowels; diarrhoea; a bout of this ailment.

Origin

• From Middle English lasken, from Old Northern French *lasquer, Old French lascher, laschier (modern French lâcher), from Vulgar Latin *lascāre, *lassicāre, from Latin *laxicāre, the frequentative of Latin laxāre, the present active infinitive of laxō, from laxus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leg-, *(s)leh₁g-.
• From Middle English laske, from Old Northern French *lasque, Old French laske, lasche (modern French lâche), from Old French lascher, laschier: see further at etymology 1.
• From the adjective: see etymology 2.