absolve, v.
(æbˈsɒlv, æbˈzɒlv)
[ad. L. absolvĕre to loosen, free, acquit, complete; f. ab off, from, + solv-ĕre to loose. Cf. Fr. absoudre, absolv-ant. Bef. its employment the main senses were expressed by assoil. In the pronunciation of this word and its derivatives, usage, as well as the opinion of orthoepists, is divided between {aebreve}bs- and {aebreve}bz-; cf. absorb, solve, dissolve, resolve.]
Always trans.
1. To set free, pronounce free (from blame, guilt, moral burden; from the penalties and consequences of crime or sin).
| c 1538 Starkey England iv. 124 To declayre penytent heartys contryte for ther syn to be absoluyd from the faute therof. 1579 Lyly Euphues 174 Who absolued Mary Magdalen from hir sinnes but Christ? 1619 T. Taylor Titus ii. 14. 317 Absoluing vs both from the guilt and punishment of them. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Rebel. i. 20 Notwithstanding..that he was absolved from any notorious crime..he was at last condemned in a great Fine. 1832 H. Martineau Ireland ii. 17 Father Glenny had readily absolved her from the sin of mistrusting heaven. 1868 Ecce Homo (ed. 8) i. i. 5 Absolved from all anxieties by the sense of his protection. 1870 R. W. Dale Weekd. Serm. i. 17 This does not absolve him from moral blame. |
2. spec. To pronounce (one) acquitted of sin, to give absolution or remission of sins to. a. simply, or for some offence.
| 1535 Coverdale Jere. xi. 15 As though that holy flesh might absolue the. a 1570 Becon Wks. 560, Neither did the apostles absolve any otherwise than by the preaching of God's word. 1596 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 233 To make confession, and to be absolu'd. 1638 Penit. Conf. (1657) xi. 307 The Frier absolved him, but kept not his counsel. 1719 Young The Revenge iv. i. (1757) II. 167 And yet (For which the saints absolve my soul!) did wed. 1817 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life II. i. 11 One's conscience may be pretty well absolved for not admiring this man. 1865 F. Parkman Champlain (1875) vi. 265 Biard..gained his pardon, received his confession, and absolved him. |
b. of the sin.
| 1651 Hobbes Leviathan iii. xxxviii. 241 With them that were absolved of their sinnes. 1866 Kingsley Hereward iii. 80 But I dare not absolve him of robbing a priest. |
3. To remit, give absolution for (a sin or crime).
| 1592 Warner Albion's England (1612) viii. xli. 198 The Pope for pay absolueth euery thing. 1647 Cowley Mistress, Dial. viii. (1669) 77 The Cause absolves the Crime. 1662 Dryden To Hyde 60 Not to increase, but to absolve, our crimes. 1845 Ford Handb. Spain i. 67 He was a good Roman Catholic canon who believed everything, absolved everything, drank everything, ate everything, and digested everything. |
4. To acquit (a person) of a criminal charge, to pronounce not guilty. esp. in Roman law.
| 1628 Hobbes Thucydides (1822) 62 Pausanias..having been calld in question by them (the Spartans) was absolvd. 1651 ― Leviathan i. xvi. 83 In condemning, or absolving, equality of votes, even in that they condemne not, do absolve. 1665–9 Boyle Occ. Refl. Ep. Ded. (1675) Divers of the Criticks will chuse rather to Absolve my Writings, than Condemn Your Judgment. a 1725 Pope Odyssey xi. 702 Absolves the just, and dooms the guilty souls. 1741 Middleton Cicero (ed. 3) II. vi. 156 Cato, who absolved him, chose to give his vote openly. 1880 Muirhead Gaius iv. §47 Words are introduced empowering the judge to condemn or absolve. Ibid. 163 He does so without incurring any penalty, and is at once absolved. |
5. To set free, discharge (from, formerly of, obligations, liabilities).
| 1649 Milton Eikon. 137 To be..his own Pope and to absolve himselfe of those ties. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. I. viii. 176 The Popes authority..had absolved them from all oaths which they had taken. 1862 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xii. 172 He also appealed to the Pope to be absolved from the obligations which he had contracted. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xii. 150 So many wrongs had at last absolved him from every duty of a vassal. |
† 6. To clear up, solve, or resolve; to explain (i.e. to unloose the knot of doubt or difficulty). Obs.
| 1577 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. 195 Some high mysterie, which if it be facil to demaund, is very difficil to absolue. 1590 Recorde, etc. Gr. of Arts (1646) 118 It maketh just 700 pounds, and so is the question truly absolved. 1612 Fletcher Women Pleas'd v. i. 43 If I absolve the words? 1667 Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 195 The inventions, and phenomena already absolved, improved, or opened. |
† 7. To clear off, discharge, acquit oneself of (a task, etc.); to perform completely, accomplish, finish. Obs.
| 1577 tr. Bullinger, Decades (1592) 194 In these fewe wordes are comprehended al that which profound Philosophers doe scarsely absolue in infinite bookes. 1619 T. Taylor Titus ii. 15. 538 Thus by the assistance of God, haue wee absolued this second Chapter. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. (1676) ii. ii. iii. 160/2 Saturn in 30 years absolves his sole and proper motion. 1652 Gaule Mag-astro-mancer 144 'Tis their own task; and, till they absolve it, they must give us leave to tell them. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 94 The work begun, how soon Absolved. 1718 Prior Poems 300 She conscious of the Grace, absolv'd her Trust, Not unrewarded. 1744 Akenside Pleas. Imag. i. 194 Bend the reluctant planets to absolve The fated rounds of time. a 1801 E. Darwin Zoonomia III. 363 The frequent swallowing of weak broth..relieves the patient, and absolves the cure. |