Word of the Day for Monday, March 12, 2012
remit \ri-MIT\,
verb:
1. To slacken or relax.
2. To transmit money, a check, etc., as in payment.
3. To abate for a time or at intervals, as a fever.
4. To refrain from exacting, as a payment or service.
5. To pardon or forgive a sin, offense, etc.
It matters not that we remit our attention, at times, to the pain or the pleasure; these are always in the background; and the strength of the appetite is their strength.
-- Alexander Bain, "Practical Essays"
If I were satisfied that you were not intending to make an exhibition of yourself I might be prepared to remit the fines.
-- Henry Cecil, "Independent Witness"
Remit is derived from the Latin roots re- meaning "back" and mit meaning "send," so it literally meant "to send back."
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