means To set something in motion — to send a vessel into water, fire a rocket skyward, hurl a projectile, or formally start a venture or product.

from From the Old French 'lanchier' or 'lancier,' meaning to hurl or fling, which traces back to the Late Latin 'lanceare,' 'to wield a lance.' The thread runs from 'lancea,' the Roman lance — so to launch is, at root, to throw a spear. The nautical and rocket senses came later, but the bones of the word are still about something flung hard toward a target.