different between goad vs relent

English

Etymology

From Middle English gode, from Old English g?d (“goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gaid? (compare Old Norse gedda (“pike (fish)”), Lombardic gaida (“spear”)), from Proto-Indo-European *??ey- (compare Old Irish gath (“spear”), Sanskrit ??????? (hinvati), ?????? (hinoti, “to urge on, throw”), ???? (heti, “missile, projectile”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???d/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?o?d/
• Rhymes: -??d

Noun

goad (plural goads)

1. A long, pointed stick used to prod animals.
2. (figuratively) That which goads or incites; a stimulus.

Translations

Verb

goad (third-person singular simple present goads, present participle goading, simple past and past participle goaded)

1. To prod with a goad.
2. To encourage or stimulate.
3. To incite or provoke.

Translations

See also

• goat

Anagrams

• Goda, dago, doga

Scots

Etymology

From Old English god, of Germanic origin.

Noun

goad (plural goads)

1. God

English

Etymology

From Middle English relenten, from Anglo-Norman relentir, from Latin re- + lentare (“to bend”), from lentus (“soft, pliant, slow”). Earliest recording dates to 1526.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???l?nt/
• Rhymes: -?nt

Noun

relent (plural relents)

1. Stay; stop; delay.
   • 2015, Mel Parson, First Sign of Trouble (song)

     There was no relent, my dear, as we pulled each other in.
2. (obsolete) A relenting.

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

Derived terms

• relentless

Translations

Verb

relent (third-person singular simple present relents, present participle relenting, simple past and past participle relented)

1. (intransitive) To become less severe or intense; to become less hard, harsh, or cruel; to soften in temper

   He had planned to ground his son for a month, but relented and decided to give him a stern lecture instead.

   • 1989, Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day

     I did, I suppose, hope that she might finally relent a little and make some conciliatory response or other.
2. (intransitive) To slacken; to abate.

   We waited for the storm to relent before we ventured outside.

   He will not relent in his effort to reclaim his victory.

3. (obsolete, transitive) To lessen, make less severe or intense.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iv:

     But nothing might relent her hastie flight; / So deepe the deadly feare of that foule swaine / Was earst impressed in her gentle spright […]

4. (dated, intransitive, of substance) To become less rigid or hard; to soften; to yield, for example by dissolving or melting
   • 1669, Robert Boyle, The History of Fluidity and Firmness

     [Salt of tartar] placed in a cellar will […] begin to relent.

Translations

Adjective

relent (comparative more relent, superlative most relent)

1. (obsolete) softhearted; yielding

References

French

Etymology

re- +? lent (“slow”, in the sense “lingering”)

Pronunciation

Noun

relent m (plural relents)

1. lingering smell (usually bad); stench
2. (figuratively) overtone

Further reading

• “relent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle English

Verb

relent

1. Alternative form of relenten