Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RE-LAPSE, v.i. [relaps'; L. relapsus, relabor, to slide back; re and labor, to slide.]

1. To slip or slide back; to return.
2. To fall back; to return to a former state or practice; as, to relapse into vice or error after amendment.
3. To fall back or return from recovery or a convalescent state; as, to relapse into a fever.