▪ I. † reˈlent, n. Obs. rare.
[f. the vb.]
1. Slackening of speed.
| 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. vii. 24 She forward went..Ne rested till she came without relent Unto the land of Amazons. |
2. Relenting, giving way.
| 1590 Greene Orl. Fur. Wks. (Rtldg.) 97/2 Fear of death enforceth still In greater minds submission and relent. 1616 W. Forde Serm. 40 If vertue, if pietie, could worke any relent in death. 1686 Goad Celest. Bodies i. xii. 56 Those [days] which are absolutely Cold and Freezing, without the least Sign of Relent or Yielding. |
▪ II. † reˈlent, pa. pple. Obs. rare.
[f. L. re- re- + lent-us viscous, soft: see next, and cf. F. relent musty.]
a. Loosened, loose. b. Softened.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 928 The bee..On titymalle and elmes gynneth pike That bitter be, wherof anoon relent Ther wombes are. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 620 Who shall gife me water sufficient,..That I may wepe my fill with hart relent..? |
▪ III. relent, v.1
(rɪˈlɛnt)
Also 5 pa. pple. relente.
[Ultimately f. L. re- re- + lent-us tough, sticky, viscous, slow, etc.; but the immediate source is not clear: cf. L. relentescĕre to grow slack (Ovid), F. ralentir to slacken (16th c.), † relentir, ‘to smell mustie, grow fustie’ (Cotgr.).]
† 1. intr. To melt under the influence of heat; to assume a liquid form; to dissolve into water. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 725 He styred þe coles til relente gan The wex agayn þe fuyr. c 1410 Lydg. Reas. & Sens. 4179 The wexe with hete wil relente. 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. ii. vii. in Ashm. (1652) 136 Behold how Yse to Water doth relent. 1530 Palsgr. 684/2 Se howe this snowe begynneth to relent agaynst the sonne. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxlvii. vi, Ice in water flowes,..The streames relenting take their wonted way. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. iii. xvi. §3 Were those Musical accents frozen there for a time, and..the Air relenting and thawing became so harmoniously vocal? 1670 Clarke Nat. Hist. Nitre 84 The Coal keepeth the Nitre very dry, that it may not relent and moisten by the Air. 1704 Pope Spring 69 All nature mourns, the Skies relent in show'rs. 1764 Morris in Phil. Trans. LIV. 174 On leaving it exposed to the air, the brown matter attracted moisture from it and relented into a thick brown liquour. |
| fig. c 1475 Lament. Mary Magd. lxx, Myne herte alas relenteth all in paine, Whiche will brast both senewe and vaine. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 153 To haue seyn hir, a harte of stone For ruthe wold haue relente. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 112 Preserved from guilt by salutary fears, Or guilty, soon relenting into tears. |
† b. To become soft or moist; also of colours, to give way, fade. Obs.
| 1531 Elyot Gov. iii. xix. (1880) II. 318 The colours beynge nat suerly wrought,..by moystnesse of wether relenteth or fadeth. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 63 Both saltfish and lingfish..from rotting go saue: Least winter with moistnes doo make it relent. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. ii. 32 Keepe these leaues..neere a chimney, or stoue, least otherwise by the damp of the aier they relent again. 1620 Markham Farew. Husb. ii. xviii. (1668) 95 Beans after they are once dryed..will thaw, give again or relent. |
c. To grow less tense or rigid, to relax. rare—1.
| 1854 S. Dobell Balder xxiv. 172 The painful limbs, contract with pangs, Relented. |
2. To soften in temper; to grow more gentle or forgiving; to give up a harsh intention or inclination to severity. † Also const. with inf. (quot. 1604).
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 256 b, It myght not swage the malyce of the iewes ne cause theyr hertes to relent. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 163 Nothyng relentynge of their wonted rygour. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 165, I powr'd forth teares in vaine,..But fierce Andronicus would not relent. 1604 Bacon Apol. Wks. 1879 I. 436/2 If she once relented to send or visit, those demonstrations would prove matter of substance for my lord's good. 1631 R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. (1635) 232 He seemes now when he sees his misery to relent and to be touched with remorse. 1671 Milton Samson 509 Perhaps God will relent, and quit thee all his debt. 1708 Pope Ode St. Cecilia 85 Stern Proserpine relented, And gave him back the fair. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlv. IV. 430 The conqueror paused and relented. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam iv. xxii, Her foes relenting turn, And cast the vote of love. 1882 Ouida Maremma I. 25 The carabinier on his right side, relenting, held the wine towards his mouth. |
† b. To yield, give way; to give up a previous determination or obstinacy. Also const. to. Obs.
| 1528 Gardiner in Pocock Rec. Reformation I. 115 We do not yet relent, but stick still to have the Commission after the first form. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 31 If thou wylte persever thus obstinatlye in thine opinion, and not relent, the Emperour wyll bannishe thee. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 299 Princes..must be suffred to haue the victorie and be relented vnto. 1624 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. iii. vii. (ed. 2) 288 Two refractory spirits will never agree, the onely meanes to ouercome is to relent. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 790 To convince the proud what Signs availe, Or Wonders move th' obdurate to relent? |
† c. To slacken, abate; to cool. Obs. rare—1.
| c 1560 Ingelend Disobed. Child C iij b, As for my loue yt doth neuer relente, For of you I do dreame. 1589 Rider Bibl. Schol. 1206 To Relent as heate, tepesco. |
† 3. trans. To dissolve, melt, soften. Obs.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 1142 In water first this opium relent, Of sape vntil hit ha similitude. c 1450 M.E. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 161 Let do hem to þe fuyre aȝen, tyl þey ben relented. 1509 Hawes Conv. Swearers xl, Lyke as Phebus dothe the snowe relente. 1547 Boorde Introd. Knowl. viii. (1870) 147 Butter is good meate, it doth relent the gall. 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 28 This Emplaster..dissolved or relented with oyl of roses or elders [etc.]. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 50 Fractures..may be helped by Calves glue, relented in water. |
† b. To soften (one's heart, mind, etc.); to cause (a person) to relent. Obs.
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxii. (Percy Soc.) 159 These men..A maydens herte coude ryght sone relente. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. vi. 40 Yet pitty often did the gods relent. c 1614 Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas ii. 543 How dar he this his enterprise reveale To furiows Dido? how her minde relent? 1787 Burns Young Peggy iii, Were Fortune lovely Peggy's foe, Such sweetness would relent her. |
† 4. To abate, lessen; to slacken. Obs.
| 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 391, I am bot schent, Without scho cum,..My heauie langour to relent. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. xi. 27 Oftentimes he would relent his pace, That him his foe more fiercely should poursew. Ibid. iii. iv. 49 Nothing might relent her hasty flight. |
† b. To relinquish, abandon, give over. Obs.
| 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. liii. 40 To here him speak, ere he his life should relent. 1565 Stapleton tr. Bede's Hist. Ch. Eng. 54 b, After the death of their father they began..openlie to folowe idolatrie, which while their father liued, they seemed somewhat to have relented. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 142 The disgrace that quickly you shall sustaine, if betimes you relent not these euils. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 181 There's no Discouragement Shall make him once Relent His first avow'd Intent. |
† c. To depart this life. Obs. rare—1.
| 1587 Mirr. Mag., Albanact lv, My father..Perceau'd hee must by sicknesse last relent. |
† 5. To repent (an action, etc.). Obs. rare—1.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. vi. 25 Shee inly sory was, and gan relent What shee had said. |
† b. refl. To repent (oneself) of a thing. Obs.—1
| 1640 Sanderson Serm. II. 175 We shall not have much cause to relent us of our choice. |
† c. To pity. Obs. rare—1.
| 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 18 Shee that kept the house, seeming to relent her paine, and to be much grieued for it..sorrowfully reply'd. |
† d. To bewail (a thing) to a person. Obs.—1
| 1655 tr. Com. Hist. Francion iii. 74, I could find nothing at all, and relenting my misfortune to my companion [etc.]. |
Hence † reˈlented ppl. a. Also † reˈlentance; † reˈlentful a.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 105 In the roote Relented dong yputte on, doth hit boote. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1613) 164 [She] with a relented countenance thus sayd vnto him. 1611 Heywood Gold. Age iii. i. Wks. 1874 III. 42 The heauens That make me their relentfull minister. 1634 T. Johnson Parey's Chirurg. xxi. iv. (1678) 465 The relented bloud of such beasts as feed upon Scammony..purgeth violently. 1635 Jackson Creed viii. xii. §9 This may be the probable reason of his relentance. |
▪ IV. † reˈlent, v.2 Obs. rare—1.
[Of obscure formation.]
intr. To return.
| c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 259 But now, serys, lett vs relente Agayne to caypha and anna, to tell this chaunce. |