lax

See also: LAX and Lax

English

WOTD – 6 May 2009

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /læks/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æks
• Homophone: lacks

Alternative forms

• lacks (Killian)

Etymology 1

From Middle English lax, from Old English leax (“salmon”), from Proto-West Germanic *lahs (“salmon”), from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz (“salmon”), from Proto-Indo-European *laḱs- (“salmon, trout”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lacks, lachs, lasche (“salmon”), Middle Low German las (“salmon”), German Lachs (“salmon”), Norwegian laks (“salmon”), Danish laks (“salmon”), Swedish lax (“salmon”), Icelandic lax (“salmon”), Lithuanian lašišà (“salmon”), Latvian lasis, Russian лосо́сь (losósʹ, “salmon”), Albanian leshterik (“eel-grass”). Doublet of lox.

Noun

lax (plural laxes)

1. (now chiefly UK dialectal, Scotland) A salmon.

Related terms

• gravlax
• lox

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin laxus (“wide, roomy, loose”).

Adjective

lax (comparative laxer, superlative laxest)

1. Lenient and allowing for deviation; not strict.

   The rules are fairly lax, but you have to know which ones you can bend.

   • 1886, John Addington Symonds, Philip Sidney:

     Society at that epoch was lenient, if not lax, in matters of the passions.

2. Loose; not tight or taut.

   The rope fell lax.

   • 1701, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation, […], 3rd edition, London: […] Sam[uel] Smith, and Benj[amin] Walford, […], →OCLC, part II, page 355:

     The Fleſh of this ſort of [cartilaginous] Fiſh being lax and ſpungy, and nothing ſo firm, ſolid and weighty as that of the bony Fiſhes, and there being a good quantity of Air contained in the Cavity of their Abdomen, they cannot ſink in the Water without letting in ſome of it by theſe Holes (the Orifices whereof are opened and ſhut at pleaſure by the help of Muſcles provided for that purpoſe) into the hollow of their Bellies, whereby they preponderate the Water and deſcend; […]

   • 1979, “Genetical Studies on Dense and Lax Panicles In Rice”, in Japan. J. Breed., volume 29, number 2, page 151:

     Sreedharan and Mirsa (1973) reported that two lax panicle mutants, designated as nude panicle mutation, were obtained from the M₂ of two rice cultivars.

3. Lacking care; neglectful, negligent.
   • 2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 – 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Prior to this match, Albion had only scored three league goals all season, but Wes Brown's lax marking allowed Morrison to head in their fourth from a Chris Brunt free-kick and then, a minute later, the initial squandering of possession and Michael Turner's lack of pace let Long run through to slot in another.

4. (mathematics) Describing an associative monoidal functor.
5. (archaic) Having a looseness of the bowels; diarrheal.
6. (linguistics) (of a vowel) Produced with relatively little constriction of the vocal tract.

   Antonym: tense

Synonyms

• (lenient, not strict): permissive, lenient, relaxed
• (loose, not tight): loose, slack
• (lacking care): blameworthy, lash, negligent, remiss, reprehensible

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "lenient, not strict"): strict
• (antonym(s) of "loose, not tight"): taut, tight

Derived terms

• lax vowel

Related terms

• laxity

Translations

not strict; lenient; allowing for deviation

• Armenian: մեղմ (hy) (meġm)
• Bulgarian: неточен (bg) (netočen)
• Czech: uvolněný (cs), laxní (cs)
• Finnish: löysä (fi), höllä (fi), väljä (fi)
• French: laxiste (fr) m or f
• Georgian: არამკაცრი (aramḳacri), ლმობიერი (lmobieri), ტოლერანტული (ṭoleranṭuli)
• German: lax (de)
• Greek: επιεικής (el) m or f (epieikís), ελαστικός (el) m (elastikós), χαλαρός (el) m (chalarós)
• Hungarian: laza (hu), rugalmas (hu)
• Irish: neamartach
• Italian: lasso (it) m, lassista
• Portuguese: leniente (pt)
• Russian: нестро́гий (ru) (nestrógij), необяза́тельный (ru) (neobjazátelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: socair, saor
• Spanish: laxo (es)
• Swedish: slapp (sv)

loose; not tight or taut

• Armenian: թույլ (hy) (tʻuyl)
• Bashkir: бушаҡ (buşaq)
• Bulgarian: отпуснат (bg) (otpusnat), хлабав (bg) (hlabav)
• Catalan: lax (ca) m, fluix (ca) m
• Czech: volný (cs)
• Finnish: löysä (fi)
• German: locker (de), lose (de)
• Greek: χαλαρός (el) m (chalarós), λάσκος (el) m (láskos)
• Italian: allentato (it) m, sciolto (it) m, lasso (it), lento (it), lasco (it)
• Ottoman Turkish: گوشك (gevşek)
• Portuguese: frouxo (pt)
• Russian: ненатя́нутый (ru) (nenatjánutyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: fuasgailte
• Spanish: flojo (es), suelto (es)
• Swedish: lös (sv)

lacking care

• Bulgarian: небрежен (bg) (nebrežen)
• Esperanto: pigra, maldiligenta
• Finnish: holtiton (fi), huolimaton (fi), piittaamaton (fi), leväperäinen (fi)
• French: laxiste (fr) m or f
• Greek: αμελής (el) m or f (amelís)
• Italian: trascurato (it), negligente (it)
• Plautdietsch: schloff
• Portuguese: negligente (pt)
• Russian: небрежный (ru) (nebrežnyj)

diarrheal — see diarrheal

Etymology 3

By replacement of the syllable crosse with the cross-shaped letter x.

Noun

lax (uncountable)

1. (slang) Lacrosse.
   • 2010, Kate Kingsley, Pretty on the Outside, page 79:

     “I'm not playing lax this term,” Mimah said.

Derived terms

• lax bro

See also

• ex-lax fish

Anagrams

• Axl

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin laxus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencian) [ˈlaks]

Adjective

lax (feminine laxa, masculine plural laxos, feminine plural laxes)

1. loose, lax, slack

   Synonym: fluix

   Antonym: tens

Related terms

• laxar
• relax

Further reading

• “lax” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Dacian

Noun

lax

1. The edible wild purslane plant.

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin laxus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laks/

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophones: Lachs, Lacks

Adjective

lax (strong nominative masculine singular laxer, comparative laxer, superlative am laxesten)

1. lax
2. (morale or ethics) easy, loose

Declension

Positive forms of lax

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist lax	sie ist lax	es ist lax	sie sind lax
strong declension (without article)	nominative	laxer	laxe	laxes	laxe
	genitive	laxen	laxer	laxen	laxer
	dative	laxem	laxer	laxem	laxen
	accusative	laxen	laxe	laxes	laxe
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der laxe	die laxe	das laxe	die laxen
	genitive	des laxen	der laxen	des laxen	der laxen
	dative	dem laxen	der laxen	dem laxen	den laxen
	accusative	den laxen	die laxe	das laxe	die laxen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein laxer	eine laxe	ein laxes	(keine) laxen
	genitive	eines laxen	einer laxen	eines laxen	(keiner) laxen
	dative	einem laxen	einer laxen	einem laxen	(keinen) laxen
	accusative	einen laxen	eine laxe	ein laxes	(keine) laxen

Comparative forms of lax

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist laxer	sie ist laxer	es ist laxer	sie sind laxer
strong declension (without article)	nominative	laxerer	laxere	laxeres	laxere
	genitive	laxeren	laxerer	laxeren	laxerer
	dative	laxerem	laxerer	laxerem	laxeren
	accusative	laxeren	laxere	laxeres	laxere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der laxere	die laxere	das laxere	die laxeren
	genitive	des laxeren	der laxeren	des laxeren	der laxeren
	dative	dem laxeren	der laxeren	dem laxeren	den laxeren
	accusative	den laxeren	die laxere	das laxere	die laxeren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein laxerer	eine laxere	ein laxeres	(keine) laxeren
	genitive	eines laxeren	einer laxeren	eines laxeren	(keiner) laxeren
	dative	einem laxeren	einer laxeren	einem laxeren	(keinen) laxeren
	accusative	einen laxeren	eine laxere	ein laxeres	(keine) laxeren

Superlative forms of lax

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am laxesten	sie ist am laxesten	es ist am laxesten	sie sind am laxesten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	laxester	laxeste	laxestes	laxeste
	genitive	laxesten	laxester	laxesten	laxester
	dative	laxestem	laxester	laxestem	laxesten
	accusative	laxesten	laxeste	laxestes	laxeste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der laxeste	die laxeste	das laxeste	die laxesten
	genitive	des laxesten	der laxesten	des laxesten	der laxesten
	dative	dem laxesten	der laxesten	dem laxesten	den laxesten
	accusative	den laxesten	die laxeste	das laxeste	die laxesten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein laxester	eine laxeste	ein laxestes	(keine) laxesten
	genitive	eines laxesten	einer laxesten	eines laxesten	(keiner) laxesten
	dative	einem laxesten	einer laxesten	einem laxesten	(keinen) laxesten
	accusative	einen laxesten	eine laxeste	ein laxestes	(keine) laxesten

Further reading

• “lax” in Duden online
• “lax” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse lax, from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [laxs], [laks]

Noun

lax m (genitive singular lax, nominative plural laxar)

1. salmon

Declension

declension of lax

m-s1	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lax	laxinn	laxar	laxarnir
accusative	lax	laxinn	laxa	laxana
dative	laxi	laxinum	löxum	löxunum
genitive	lax	laxins	laxa	laxanna

Derived terms

• laxbleikur:
• laxbleikur litur m

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *laks, from the same source as laciō (“entice”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /laks/, [ɫ̪äks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /laks/, [läks]

Noun

lax f (genitive lacis); third declension

1. deception, fraud

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lax	lacēs
Genitive	lacis	lacum
Dative	lacī	lacibus
Accusative	lacem	lacēs
Ablative	lace	lacibus
Vocative	lax	lacēs

Synonyms

• fraus

References

• “lax”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• lax in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Anagrams

• alx

Middle English

Alternative forms

• lex

Etymology

From Old English leax, from Proto-West Germanic *lahs, from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laks/, /lɛks/

Noun

lax (plural lax or laxes)

1. salmon

Descendants

• English: lax
• Scots: lax

References

• “lax, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-23.

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *lahsaz. Cognate with Old English leax, German Lachs, English lox, Old High German lahs, Yiddish לאַקס (laks).

Noun

lax m (genitive lax, plural laxar)

1. (zoology) salmon

Declension

  Declension of lax (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lax	laxinn	laxar	laxarnir
accusative	lax	laxinn	laxa	laxana
dative	laxi	laxinum	lǫxum	lǫxunum
genitive	lax	laxins	laxa	laxanna

Derived terms

• Laxárdalr

Descendants

• Icelandic: lax
• Faroese: laksur
• Norn: laks
• Elfdalian: laks
• Norwegian Nynorsk: laks
• Norwegian Bokmål: laks
• Old Swedish: lax
  • Swedish: lax
• Old Danish: lax
  • Danish: laks
• Gutnish: lax

References

• “lax”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse lax, from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz.

Noun

lax m

1. (zoology) salmon

Declension

  Declension of lax (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lax	laxin	laxar	laxanir, laxaner
accusative	lax	laxin	laxa	laxana
dative	laxi, laxe	laxinum, laxenom	laxum, laxom	laxumin, laxomen
genitive	lax	laxins	laxa	laxanna

Descendants

• Swedish: lax

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin laxus.

Adjective

lax m or n (feminine singular laxă, masculine plural lacși, feminine and neuter plural laxe)

1. lax

Declension

Declension of lax

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	lax		laxă	lacși	laxe
	definite	laxul		laxa	lacșii	laxele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	lax		laxe	lacși	laxe
	definite	laxului		laxei	lacșilor	laxelor

Swedish

A salmon pink 1000 SEK banknote from 1894.

Etymology

From Old Norse lax, from Proto-Germanic *lahsaz.

The 1000 SEK sense is probably referring to the old pink color of the 1000 SEK banknote, the same color as a salmon. Compare with the similar themed older slang skäring, from skär (“pink”); räka (“prawn”); tegel (“brick”); and röding (“char”), from röd (“red”); all referring to the red-pinkish color of the 1000 SEK banknote. Color and animal-related nicknames for banknotes used to be quite common, e.g. grönsiska (“siskin; 6 riksdaler 32 skillingar”), kanariefågel (“canary bird; 32 skillingar”) and fågel blå (“blue bird; 500 riksdaler”).

An alternative possibility is of a Romani origin, then derived from Hindi लाख (lākh, “100,000”), from Sanskrit लक्ष (lakṣa), but such a Romani word has not been attested. Cf. lakan with the same meaning.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laks/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aks
• Homophone: lacks

Noun

lax c

1. salmon
2. (slang) A banknote with the nominal value 1000 SEK or the corresponding amount of money.

   Synonyms: lakan, långschal, skäring, papp, lök

Declension

Declension of lax
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	lax	laxen	laxar	laxarna
Genitive	lax	laxens	laxars	laxarnas

Derived terms

• laxrosa

References

• Monica Golabiewski Lannby (2009 December 3) “Sedlarna som satte färg på språket”, in Språktidningen‎^[2], retrieved 2021-11-26
• Monica Golabiewski Lannby (2009) “’LAXAR’ – de skära tusenlapparna”, in Svensk numismatisk tidskrift‎^[3], number 8, Svenska numismatiska föreningen
• Gerd Carling (2005) “lax”, in Romani i svenskan: Storstadsslang och standardspråk, Stockholm: Carlsson, →ISBN, page 89