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lax(1) (iou)



lax adjective & adverb. [laks] LME.
[Latin laxus loose, cogn. with SLACK adjective.]
A. adjective.
Of the bowels: loose. Formerly also, (of a person) having loose bowels. LME.
a. Loose in texture; loosely cohering or compacted; porous. LME.
T. H. Green Those organs which possess a lax structure..as the lungs.
b. Botany. Esp. of an inflorescence: having the parts distant from each other or in an open or loose arrangement. L18.
Loose-fitting, worn loosely; careless of one's dress or appearance. rare. LME.
Not strict or severe; vague, not precise or exact. L15.
J. R. Green Richard [Cromwell] was known to be lax and godless in his conduct. M. Edwardes Discipline was lax, and bad practices were widely in evidence.
Slack; not tense or rigid; (of bodily constitution or mental powers) lacking in tone or tension. Now rare. M17.
b. Of the limbs etc.: relaxed, without muscular tension. M19.
R. West A two-day-old calf, lax on the ground, like a great skein of fawn-coloured silk.
c. Phonetics. Of a speech sound: pronounced with the vocal muscles relaxed. Cf. TENSE adjective 1b. E20.
B. adverb. So as to have ample room. rare (Milton). Only in M17.
laxly adverb LME.
laxness noun LME.