Etymologically
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departure

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)tjə(ɹ)/, /dɪˈpɑː(ɹ)t͡ʃə(ɹ)/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French departeure (“departure; death”), from departir (“to depart”) (see depart) and -ure.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of going away, and a deviation or divergence: the mid-15th century in Etymonline,[2] late Middle English in SOED and NODE.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The Old French word also meant death, leaving this life, a sense found in archaic English.[2][4] Separation or severance (before 1533) and a boundary between regions (1523) are obsolete senses.[5] A deviation from a custom or plan, as a departure from tradition, is a modern use, as is a new course of action.[6][7] A train or flight leaving, and a departure lounge, follow.[7]

Timeline

  • mid-15th century – going away; deviation.[2]
  • 1523 – a boundary (obsolete).[5]
  • before 1533 – separation (obsolete).[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of leaving, especially at the start of a journey.
  2. A deviation from an accepted or usual course: a departure from tradition.
  3. A new course of action: a new departure.
  4. (archaic) Death.

Word family

  • nondeparture
  • predeparture
  • point of departure

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins