LAUNCH

I. verb see: lance Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to throw forward ; hurl , to release, catapult, or send off (a self-propelled object) , 2. to set (a boat or ship) afloat, to give (a person) a start , c. to put into operation or set in motion ; initiate , introduce , to get off to a good start, to load into a computer's memory and run , intransitive verb 1. to spring forward ; take off , to enter energetically , 2. to slide down the ways, to make a start, II. noun Date: 1749 an act or instance of ~ing, III. noun Etymology: Spanish or Portuguese; Spanish lancha, from Portuguese Date: 1697 a large boat that operates from a ship, a small motorboat that is open or that has the forepart of the hull covered