disengagement

English

Etymology

From dis- +‎ engage +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌdɪs.ɪŋˈɡeɪd͡ʒ.mənt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

disengagement (countable and uncountable, plural disengagements)

1. 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; […]”

2. 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.

3. (dated) Leisure; relief from responsibilities or onerous activities.
4. (military, politics) Withdrawal from combat, confrontation, or the assertion of influence.
5. Termination of an agreement to be married.
6. (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.

7. (medicine, obstetrics) The emergence of the fetus from the birth canal.

Related terms

• disengage
• engagement
• engage

Translations

termination of an agreement to be married

• German: Entlobung (de) f

References

• “disengagement”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.