I. ˈläks noun
( -es )
Etymology: partly from Norwegian laks, from Old Norse lax; partly from Scots (also obsolete English) lax, from Middle English, from Old English leax; Old English leax akin to Old High German lahs salmon, Old Norse lax, Russian losos' salmon, Tocharian B laks fish
: salmon
II. ˈlaks transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English laxen, from Latin laxare, from laxus
: relax , loosen
laxed its hold in death — G.M.Trevelyan
III. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin laxus slack, loose, spacious — more at slack
1.
a. of the bowels : loose , open
b. : having the bowels open
2. : not strict or stringent
lax discipline
lax laws
3.
a. : not tense, firm, or rigid : slack , relaxed
took his lax hand in hers — David Walden
a lax tone of voice
also : easygoing , careless
a man of lax habits
b. : having an open or loose texture
a lax fiber
a lax soil
c. : not close together : scattered
a lax flower cluster
4. of a speech sound : produced with the muscles involved in a relatively relaxed state
the vowels i and u̇ in contrasts with the vowels ē and ü are lax
— compare tense
Synonyms: see negligent
IV. noun
( -es )
now chiefly dialect : looseness of the bowels : diarrhea