Freedom from difficulty, effort, or discomfort; to make something less difficult or severe.
From Old French 'aise' meaning 'comfort, pleasure, well-being,' possibly from Latin 'adjacere' meaning 'to lie near.' The sense of 'absence of difficulty' developed in Middle English.
The phrase 'at ease' comes from military commands, where soldiers could relax from rigid attention. Interestingly, things that are 'easy' and things that provide 'ease' both reduce effort but came from different linguistic roots.
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