remissus

Remissus is a Latin adjective and past participle derived from remittere, meaning to send back or to loosen. In Classical Latin it bears several related senses: literally “loosened, slack, relaxed” and figuratively “lenient, forgiving,” as well as “remiss, negligent” when describing conduct. The term agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies (for example remissus, remissa, remissum in the singular; remissi, remissae, remissa in the plural), following the pattern of second-declension adjectives.

Etymology and derivatives: The form comes from prefix re- plus mittere “to send.” The semantic shift from “to loosen” to “to relax obligations” underpins its Latin range and explains the modern English cognate remiss, which entered English via Old French remis and Latin-medieval usage. The English adjective remiss means negligent or careless, as in being remiss in one’s duties; it can also appear in older or more formal contexts to signify laxness or leniency.

Usage: In Latin texts remissus appears as a descriptive term for people or things that are slack or negligent, or for actions that are not performed with due strictness. In modern scholarship, it helps translate passages indicating looseness, slack discipline, or mercy in rhetorical or legal contexts. In English, remiss is most commonly encountered in the phrase “remiss in [one’s] duties” and is generally negative, contrasting with more neutral or positive notions of leniency or mercy.