Made less difficult, painful, or tense; relieved or reduced in intensity.
From Old French 'aise' meaning comfort or pleasure, ultimately from Latin 'adjacens' (lying near). The sense of making something less burdensome developed in Middle English.
The word 'ease' originally meant physical comfort or luxury, which is why we still say someone lives 'a life of ease.' Interestingly, the phrase 'at ease' in military contexts comes from this same root - it literally means to relax from a state of tension.
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