disengagement
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Etymology edit
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Noun edit
disengagement (countable and uncountable, plural disengagements)
- Release or detachment from a physical situation or other involvement.
- 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter X, in Rob Roy. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, pages 238–239:
- “Miss Vernon,” I said, “Mr Rashleigh, has recommended me to return my thanks to you for my speedy disengagement from the ridiculous accusation of Morris; […]”
- The release or separation of a chemical.
- 1836 October, Washington Irving, chapter XXVI, in Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 254:
- The Indians of the Orellanna, also, tell of horrible noises heard occasionally in the Paraguaxo, […] Others have endeavored to account for these discharges of "mountain artillery" on humbler principles; attributing them […] to the disengagement of hydrogen, produced by subterraneous beds of coal in a state of ignition.
- (dated) Leisure; relief from responsibilities or onerous activities.
- (military, politics) Withdrawal from combat, confrontation, or the assertion of influence.
- Termination of an agreement to be married.
- (fencing) A circular movement of the blade that blocks an opponent's parry.
- 1895, Francis Marion Crawford, chapter 23, in Taquisara:
- There was a quick flash, a disengagement, a feint, a lunge that was like a man's, and as her long left arm shot out like lightning, her foil bent nearly double.
- (medicine, obstetrics) The emergence of the fetus from the birth canal.
Related terms edit
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References edit
- “disengagement”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.