discharge English · revision 15122

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1330|origins=la carrus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: noun UK /ˈdɪs.tʃɑːdʒ/, US /ˈdɪs.tʃɑːrdʒ/; verb UK /dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ/, US /dɪsˈtʃɑːrdʒ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dischargen]], [[bor|fro|deschargier|t=to unload]] (modern [[fr|décharger]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-lat|discarricō|t=to unload]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|dis-]], expressing reversal, and [[m|la-lat|carricō|t=to load a wagon]] (see [[charge]]), from [[la|carrus|t=two-wheeled wagon]] (see [[car]]).^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To relieve of an obligation, to exonerate: about 1330 in the OED, before 1338 in Mannyng's Chronicle in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To unload a ship is from 1382,^(OED 1989) and to perform one's duties and to dismiss from employment from about 1400.^(Etymonline) Of weapons, to fire is from the 1550s, and to go off from the 1580s;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) of a river, to empty itself, from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The electrical sense is first attested in 1748.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The noun is from 1390, in Gower,^(Barnhart 1988) meaning release from work from the early 15th century, the firing of a weapon from the 1590s, and that which is emitted from 1727.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1330 – to relieve of an obligation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1382 – to unload a ship.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1390 – a discharge (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – to dismiss from employment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – to fire a weapon.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1748 – electrical discharge.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To release or allow to go: ''the hospital discharged the patient''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To dismiss from duty, office or employment.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To fire a gun, or of a gun, to go off.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pour forth or [[emit]]: ''the boil discharges pus''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To unload cargo from a ship.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To perform duties or meet obligations.^(Collins 2023)

+ # To release stored energy or electric charge.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of discharging, such as release or dismissal.^(AHD)

+ # The firing of a weapon.^(AHD)

+ # A flowing out; something discharged, such as [[pus]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dischargeable]]

+ * [[dischargee]]

+ * [[discharger]]

+ * [[nondischarging]]

+ * [[redischarge]]

+ * [[undischarged]]

+ * [[predischarge]]

+ * [[corona discharge]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[charge]]

+ * [[cargo]]

+ * [[car]]

+ * [[carry]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}