different between ease vs ebb

English

Etymology

From Middle English ese, ays, etc., from Anglo-Norman ese (“ease”), from Old French eise and aise (“elbow room; opportunity”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Cognate with Provencal ais, Italian agio and asio, and Portuguese azo. Sometimes ascribed to Latin *asia or *asium, possibly from ansa (“handle; occasion”) but more likely from a Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), from Latin adjac?ns, present participle of adjace?. Alternatively, possibly from a non-Latin source such as Germanic or Celtic on the basis of the conflicting forms which appear in various Romance languages. Compare Old English ?eþe (“easy”), Gothic ???????????????????? (az?ti, “ease; pleasure”), *???????????????????? (*az?ts, “easy”), Breton eaz, ez (“easy”), Irish adhais (“easy; leisure”). Compare also Frankish *ansiju (“loophole, eyelet; handle, arms akimbo, elbow room”). See also eath.

The verb is from Middle English esen, ultimately of the same origin.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /i?z/
• (US) enPR: ?z, IPA^(key): /iz/,
• Rhymes: -i?z
• Homophones: ees, E's, 'e's

Noun

ease (uncountable)

1. Ability, the means to do something, particularly:
   1. (obsolete) Opportunity, chance.
      • a. 1200, Ancrene Riwle (Cleopatra MS C.vi), p. 213:

        ...?ef þer is eise to fulle þe dede...

   2. Skill, dexterity, facility.

2. Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness, particularly:
   1. Freedom from pain, hardship, and annoyance, sometimes (derogatory, archaic) idleness, sloth.

   2. Freedom from worry and concern; peace; sometimes (derogatory, archaic) indifference.

   3. Freedom from difficulty.

   4. Freedom from effort, leisure, rest.

   5. Freedom from financial effort or worry; affluence.

   6. Freedom from embarrassment or awkwardness; grace.

3. Relief, an end to discomfort, particularly:
   1. Followed by of or from: release from or reduction of pain, hardship, or annoyance.

   2. (euphemistic, obsolete) Release from intestinal discomfort: defecation.
   3. Release from constraint, obligation, or a constrained position.

   4. (clothing) Additional space provided to allow greater movement.

4. (obsolete) A convenience; a luxury.
5. (obsolete) A relief; an easement.

Synonyms

• (ability): ability, dexterity, facility, skill
• (comfort): comfort, peace
• (freedom from worry): peace of mind
• (freedom from effort): free time, leisure, relaxation, rest

Derived terms

Related terms

• easy, easiness

Translations

Verb

ease (third-person singular simple present eases, present participle easing, simple past and past participle eased)

1. (transitive) To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
   • Elyse Saugstad, a professional skier, wore a backpack equipped with an air bag, a relatively new and expensive part of the arsenal that backcountry users increasingly carry to ease their minds and increase survival odds in case of an avalanche.

2. (transitive) To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).

3. (transitive) To give respite to (someone).
4. (nautical, transitive) To loosen or slacken the tension on a line.

5. (transitive) To reduce the difficulty of (something).

6. (transitive) To move (something) slowly and carefully.

7. (intransitive) To lessen in severity.

8. (intransitive) To proceed with little effort.

Synonyms

• (free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc): assuage, salve
• (alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain)): allay, alleviate, assuage, lessen, reduce
• (give respite to (someone)): give someone a break (informal), lay off (informal)
• (loosen or slacken the tension on (something)): loosen, relax, slacken
• (reduce the difficulty of (something)): facilitate, simplify
• (lessen in severity): lessen, reduce
• (proceed with little effort): cruise

Translations

References

Middle English

Noun

ease (plural eases)

1. Alternative spelling of ese

English

Etymology

From Middle English ebbe, from Old English ebba (“ebb, tide”), from Proto-Germanic *abjô, *abj? (compare West Frisian ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe, Old Norse efja (“countercurrent”)), from Proto-Germanic *ab (“off, away”), from Proto-Indo-European *apó. (compare Old English af). More at of, off.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?b, IPA^(key): /?b/
• Rhymes: -?b

Noun

ebb (plural ebbs)

1. The receding movement of the tide.
   • 1824, Mary Shelley, Time

     Thou shoreless flood which in thy ebb and flow / Claspest the limits of morality!

2. A gradual decline.
   • 1684, Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon, Essay on Translated Verse

     Thus all the treasure of our flowing years, / Our ebb of life for ever takes away.

   • 1826, Mary Shelley, The Last Man

     This reflection thawed my congealing blood, and again the tide of life and love flowed impetuously onward, again to ebb as my busy thoughts changed.

3. (especially in the phrase 'at a low ebb') A low state; a state of depression.
   • 1695, John Dryden (translator), Observations on the Art of Painting by Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy

     Painting was then at its lowest ebb.

   • 2002, Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 22 & 29 April

     A "lowest ebb" implies something singular and finite, but for many of us, born in the Depression and raised by parents distrustful of fortune, an "ebb" might easily have lasted for years.
4. A European bunting, the corn bunting (Emberiza calandra, syns. Emberiza miliaria, Milaria calandra).

Antonyms

• flood
• flow

Derived terms

• ebb and flow
• ebb tide

Related terms

• neap
• tide

Translations

Verb

ebb (third-person singular simple present ebbs, present participle ebbing, simple past and past participle ebbed)

1. (intransitive) to flow back or recede

2. (intransitive) to fall away or decline

3. (intransitive) to fish with stakes and nets that serve to prevent the fish from getting back into the sea with the ebb
4. (transitive) To cause to flow back.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ford to this entry?)

Synonyms

ebb away, ebb down, ebb off, ebb out, reflux, wane

Translations

Adjective

ebb (comparative ebber, superlative ebbest)

1. low, shallow

   • All the sea lying betweene, is verie ebbe, full of shallowes and shelves

Anagrams

• BBE

Swedish

Noun

ebb c

1. ebb; low tide

   Antonyms: flod, högvatten

   Synonym: lågvatten

Declension