The word for today is…

absolve (verb)

– 1: to set (someone) free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt
2 : to pardon or forgive (a sin) : to remit (a sin) by absolution

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : The act of absolving can be seen as releasing someone from blame or sin, or “loosening” the hold that responsibility has on a person, which provides a hint about the word’s origins. Absolve was adopted into Middle English in the 15th century from the Latin verb absolvere, formed by combining the prefix ab- (“from, away, off”) with solvere, meaning “to loosen.” (Absolve also once had additional senses of “finish, accomplish” and “to resolve or explain,” but these are now obsolete.) Solvere is also the ancestor of the English words solve, dissolve,resolve,solvent, and solution.

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David is a retired surgeon originally from London who came to New Zealand twenty-seven years ago after being delayed in Singapore for thirteen years on leaving the UK. He was coerced into studying Latin...