launch
English
Alternative forms
- lanch (obsolete)
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL. enPR: lônch, IPA(key): /lɔːnt͡ʃ/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "some accents" is not valid. See WT:LOL. enPR: länch, IPA(key): /lɑːnt͡ʃ/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL. enPR: lônch, IPA(key): /lɔnt͡ʃ/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "cot-caught" is not valid. See WT:LOL. IPA(key): /lɒnt͡ʃ/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 1 should be a valid language code; the value "cot-caught" is not valid. See WT:LOL. IPA(key): /lɑnt͡ʃ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔːntʃ
Etymology 1
From Middle English launchen (“to throw as a lance”), Old French lanchier, another form (Lua error in Module:parameters at line 95: Parameter 2 should be a valid language, etymology language or family code; the value "ONF." is not valid. See WT:LOL, WT:LOL/E and WT:LOF./Norman variant, compare Jèrriais lanchi) of lancier, French lancer, from lance.
Verb
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- (transitive) To throw (a projectile such as a lance, dart or ball); to hurl; to propel with force.
- 2011, Stephen Budiansky, Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815, page 323
- There they were met by four thousand Ha'apa'a warriors, who launched a volley of stones and spears […]
- 2011, Stephen Budiansky, Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815, page 323
- (transitive, obsolete) To pierce with, or as with, a lance.
- 1591, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses
- And launch your hearts with lamentable wounds.
- 1591, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses
- (transitive) To cause (a vessel) to move or slide from the land or a larger vessel into the water; to set afloat.
- Template:RQ:Authorized Version
- Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
- 1725–1726, Alexander Pope, Homer's Odyssey (translation), Book V
- With stays and cordage last he rigged the ship, / And rolled on levers, launched her in the deep.
- The navy launched another ship.
- Template:RQ:Authorized Version
- (transitive) To cause (a rocket, balloon, etc., or the payload thereof) to begin its flight upward from the ground.
- 1978, Farooq Hussain, "Volksraketen for the Third World" in New Scientist
- A cheap rocket that could launch military reconnaisance satellites for developing countries has become involved in a tangled web of Nazi rocket scientists, Penthouse magazine, KGB disinformation, and a treaty reminiscent of the height of colonialism in Africa.
- NASA launched several unmanned rockets before launching any of the Mercury astronauts.
- 1978, Farooq Hussain, "Volksraketen for the Third World" in New Scientist
- (transitive) To send out; to start (someone) on a mission or project; to give a start to (something); to put in operation
- Our business launched a new project.
- (transitive, computing) to cause (a program) to operate
- Double-click an icon to launch the associated application.
- 1649, Eikon Basilike
- All art is uſed to ſink Epiſcopacy, & lanch Presbytery in England.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
- Here was my chance. I took the old man aside, and two or three glasses of Old Crow launched him into reminiscence.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 13, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- “[…] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably.” And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes.
- (transitive) To release; to put onto the market for sale
- 2013 September 7, “Kill or cure”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8852:
- On September 3rd Bionym, a Canadian firm, launched Nymi, a bracelet which detects the wearer’s heartbeat.
- (intransitive) Of a ship, rocket, balloon, etc.: to depart on a voyage; to take off.
- (intransitive, often with out) To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to begin.
- 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon: On the Vanity of the World, Preface
- In our language, Spenſer has not contented himſelf with this ſubmiſſive manner of imitation : he launches out into very flowery paths […]
- 1969, Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, ch. 23:
- My class was wearing butter-yellow pique dresses, and Momma launched out on mine. She smocked the yoke into tiny crisscrossing puckers, then shirred the rest of the bodice.
- to launch into an argument or discussion
- to launch into lavish expenditures
- 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon: On the Vanity of the World, Preface
- (intransitive, computing) (of a program) to start to operate
- After clicking the icon, the application will launch.
Translations
throw, hurl, let fly, propel with force
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strike with, or as with, a lance; to pierce
cause to move or slide from the land into the water
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send out; start on a career; set going; give a start to; put in operation
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun
launch (plural launches)
- The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built. (Compare: to splash a ship.)
- The act or fact of launching (a ship/vessel, a project, a new book, etc.).
- 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.
- An event held to celebrate the launch of a ship/vessel, project, a new book, etc.; a launch party.
- product launch
- book launch
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- book launch
- launching (as a noun)
- pre-launch
Related terms
Translations
act of launching
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movement of a vessel from land into the water
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Etymology 2
From Portuguese lancha (“barge, launch”), apparently from Malay lancar (“quick, agile”). Spelling influenced by the verb above.[1]
Noun
launch (plural launches)
- (nautical) The boat of the largest size and/or of most importance belonging to a ship of war, and often called the "captain's boat" or "captain's launch".
- (nautical) A boat used to convey guests to and from a yacht.
- (nautical) An open boat of any size powered by steam, petrol, electricity, etc.
Derived terms
Translations
largest boat belonging to a ship of war
boat used to convey guests
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open boat
See also
References
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “launch”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English 1-syllable words
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- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɔːntʃ
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English transitive verbs
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- en:Computing
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- English intransitive verbs
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- en:Nautical
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