English▸ noun Law unreasonable delay in making an assertion or claim, such as asserting a right, claiming a privilege, or making an application for redress, which may result in refusal.
– ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘slackness, negligence’): from Old French laschesse, from lasche ‘loose, lax’, based on Latin laxus. The current sense dates from the late 16th century.