late 14c., "melt, dissolve, reduce to liquid;" intransitive sense from c.1400; from Old French resolver or directly from Latin resolvere "to loosen, loose, unyoke, undo; explain; relax; set free; make void, dispel," from re-, perhaps intensive, or "back" (see re-), + solvere "loosen" (see solve). Early 15c. as "separate into components," hence the use in optics (1785). Meaning "determine, decide upon" is from 1520s, hence "pass a resolution" (1580s). For sense evolution, cf. resolute (adj.). Related: Resolved; resolving.
"determination, firmness or fixedness of purpose; a determination," 1590s, from resolve (v.).
resolve re·solve (rĭ-zŏlv')
v. re·solved, re·solv·ing, re·solves
To cause resolution of an abnormal condition.
To separate an optically inactive compound or mixture into its optically active constituents.
To render parts of an image visible and distinct.
networking
The TCP/IP protocol library software that formats requests to be sent to the Domain Name Server for hostname to IP address conversion.
(1995-03-28)