Archaic or nautical term meaning loose, unfastened, or freed from constraints; set adrift.
From 'a-' (a prefix meaning 'in a state of') plus 'loose' (from Old Norse 'lauss'). This represents an older English pattern where 'a-' was prefixed to adjectives to emphasize a state, as in 'ablaze' or 'awake.'
Old English loved putting 'a-' in front of words to intensify them—'aloose,' 'ablaze,' 'awake'—but most of these forms died out except in special cases. This word is a linguistic time capsule!
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