• launch •
Printable Version Pronunciation: lawnch • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb, transitive
Meaning: 1. To hurl, thrust, or propel into motion, as to launch a rocket. 2. To put a boat or ship in the water for the first time. 3. To initiate, start, begin, to give a start to, to commence a project, as to launch a new website or a new word-based company like The Lexiteria, launched in December of 2005.
Notes: Today's word may be used as a noun or a verb. An act of launching is a launch, as the launch of the Alpha Dictionary site back in 2005. We hope that you are enjoying it now and will continue to enjoy it as it grows and offers more and more information about language.
In Play: We most often identify today's Good Word with rocketry: "Little Rodney was genuinely startled when the rocket he launched knocked his grandpa's panama off." It is also used to indicate the vigorous beginning of almost anything: "Don't let old Sidewinder Sam launch into one of his tirages against the government or we will never get out of here."
Word History: This good word comes from Old North French lancher, from Latin lanceare "to wield a lance", based on lancea "a lance". Where this word comes from is one of those etymological mysteries we bump into from time to time. The Romans may have borrowed it from one of the Celtic tribes they frequently exchanged lances with.
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