Remission
Etymology
From Latin remissio, "a sending back, a slackening," from remittere, "to send back" or "let go" (the source of "remit" and "remittance"). The core sense is easing off or relaxing. Medicine uses it for a disease that has loosened its grip — quiet, but not necessarily gone. That is why doctors speak of being "in remission" rather than simply "well."
noun · /ri-MISH-un/
A period when the signs and symptoms of a disease lessen or disappear, though it may not be permanently cured.
What it names
The carefully hopeful word patients use instead of "cured" — better, maybe for good, but watched rather than declared over.
Example
After a year of treatment, her illness went into remission and she slowly rebuilt her routine.
Related idea
Relapse is remission’s reverse — the return of a condition that had eased.
noun · /ri-MISH-un/
The cancellation or forgiveness of a debt, penalty, or sin.
What it names
letting go of an obligation or wrongdoing, as in “the remission of sins”
Example
Good behavior earned him remission of part of his sentence.
Related idea
From Latin “remittere” (to send back, slacken); the medical sense is the disease slackening its grip.