launch

Etymology 1

From Middle English launchen (“to throw as a lance”), Old French lanchier, another form (Old Northern French/Norman variant, compare Jèrriais lanchi) of lancier, French lancer, from lance.

verb

1. (transitive) To throw (a projectile such as a lance, dart or ball); to hurl; to propel with force.
   There they were met by four thousand Ha'apa'a warriors, who launched a volley of stones and spears[…] 2011, Stephen Budiansky, Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815, page 323
2. (transitive, obsolete) To pierce with, or as with, a lance.
   And launch your hearts with lamentable wounds. 1591, Edmund Spenser, The Teares of the Muses
3. (transitive) To cause (a vessel) to move or slide from the land or a larger vessel into the water; to set afloat.
   1725–1726, Alexander Pope, Homer's Odyssey (translation), Book V With stays and cordage last he rigged the ship, / And rolled on levers, launched her in the deep.
   The navy launched another ship.
4. (transitive) To cause (a rocket, balloon, etc., or the payload thereof) to begin its flight upward from the ground.
   A cheap rocket that could launch military reconnaisance satellites for developing countries has become involved in a tangled web of Nazi rocket scientists, Penthouse magazine, KGB disinformation, and a treaty reminiscent of the height of colonialism in Africa. 1978, Farooq Hussain, “Volksraketen for the Third World”, in New Scientist
   NASA launched several unmanned rockets before launching any of the Mercury astronauts.
5. (transitive) To send out; to start (someone) on a mission or project; to give a start to (something); to put in operation
   Our business launched a new project.
   All art is uſed to ſink Epiſcopacy, & lanch Presbytery in England. 1649, Eikon Basilike
   I have ordered House Atreides to occupy Arrakis to mine the spice, thus replacing their enemies the Harkonnens. House Atreides will not refuse because of the tremendous power they think they will gain. Then, at an appointed time, Baron Harkonnen will return to Arrakis and launch a sneak attack on House Atreides. I have promised the Baron five legions of my Sardaukar terror troops. 1984, 8:38 from the start, in Dune (Science Fiction), →OCLC
6. (transitive, computing) To start (a program or feature); to execute or bring into operation.
   Double-click an icon to launch the associated application.
7. (transitive) To release; to put onto the market for sale
   On September 3rd Bionym, a Canadian firm, launched Nymi, a bracelet which detects the wearer’s heartbeat. 2013-09-07, “Kill or cure”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8852
8. (intransitive) Of a ship, rocket, balloon, etc.: to depart on a voyage; to take off.
9. (intransitive, often with out) To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to begin.
   In our language, Spenſer has not contented himſelf with this ſubmiſſive manner of imitation : he launches out into very flowery paths[…] 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon: On the Vanity of the World, Preface
   My class was wearing butter-yellow pique dresses, and Momma launched out on mine. She smocked the yoke into tiny crisscrossing puckers, then shirred the rest of the bodice. 1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 23, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
   to launch into an argument or discussion
   to launch into lavish expenditures
10. (intransitive, computing, of a program) To start to operate.
    After clicking the icon, the application will launch.

noun

1. The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built. (Compare: to splash a ship.)
2. The act or fact of launching (a ship/vessel, a project, a new book, etc.).
   Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. 2013-07-20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
3. An event held to celebrate the launch of a ship/vessel, project, a new book, etc.; a launch party.
   product launch
   book launch

Etymology 2

From Portuguese lancha (“barge, launch”), apparently from Malay lancar (“quick, agile”). Spelling influenced by the verb above.

noun

1. (nautical) The boat of the largest size and/or of most importance belonging to a ship of war, and often called the "captain's boat" or "captain's launch".
2. (nautical) A boat used to convey guests to and from a yacht.
3. (nautical) An open boat of any size powered by steam, petrol, electricity, etc.