discharge

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To accomplish or complete, as an obligation.

   • O most dear mistress, / The sun will set before I shall discharge / What I must strive to do.
2. 2

   To free of a debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.

   To free of a debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.; to absolve; to acquit; to forgive; to clear.

   • But in deede, the ſecret cauſe that brought Ageſilaus to conſent vnto this practiſe, was the greatnes of his dette which he ought, of the which he hoped to be diſcharged by chaunging of the ſtate and common wealth.
   • For if One Man's Faults could Discharge Another Man of his Duty,there would be no longer any Place left for the Common Offices of Society.
   • How happy is his low degree, / How rich in humble poverty, is he, / Who leads a quiet country life; / Diſcharg'd of buſineſs, void of ſtrife, / And from the griping ſcrivener free?
3. 3

   To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment

   To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay one's debt or obligation to.

   • If he had / The present money to discharge the Jew.
4. ›+ 23 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To set aside

      To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.

      • The order for Daly's attendance was discharged.
   2. 5

      To expel or let go.

      • Feeling in other cases discharges itself in indirect muscular actions.
   3. 6

      To let fly, as a missile

      To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.

      • They do discharge their shot of courtesy.
      • Mrs Partridge, upon this, immediately fell into a fury, and discharged the trencher on which she was eating, at the head of poor Jenny […]
   4. 7

      To release (an accumulated charge).

   5. 8

      To relieve of an office or employment

      To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from service; to dismiss.

      • Discharge the common sort / With pay and thanks.
      • Grindal […] was discharged the government of his see.
   6. 9

      To release legally from confinement

      To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty.

      • to discharge a prisoner
   7. 10

      To operate (any weapon that fires a projectile, such as a shotgun or sling).

      • discharge his pieces
      • I ran forward, discharging my pistol into the creature's body in an effort to force it to relinquish its prey; but I might as profitably have shot at the sun.
   8. 11

      To release (an auxiliary assumption) from the list of assumptions used in arguments, and…

      To release (an auxiliary assumption) from the list of assumptions used in arguments, and return to the main argument.

   9. 12

      To unload a ship or another means of transport.

   10. 13

       To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden

       To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden; to take out, as that with which anything is loaded or filled.

       • to discharge a cargo
   11. 14

       To give forth

       To give forth; to emit or send out.

       • A pipe discharges water.
   12. 15

       To let fly

       To let fly; to give expression to; to utter.

       • He discharged a horrible oath.
   13. 16

       To bleach out or to remove or efface, as by a chemical process.

       • to discharge the colour from a dyed fabric in order to form light figures on a dark background
   14. 17

       To prohibit

       To prohibit; to forbid.

       • That Richard Stevenson, Robert Calcott, and Richard Tyldesley, be discharged from farther restraint, giving good security to appear at this Board whensoever summoned, and not depart this city until full satisfaction be given
   15. 18

       The act of expelling or letting go.

       • care transition after discharge
   16. 19

       The material thus released.

       • Near-synonyms: effluent, effluence (sometimes synonymous)
       • a mucopurulent vaginal discharge
       • the cooling tower's discharge
   17. 20

       The act of firing a projectile, especially from a firearm.

       • negligent discharge
   18. 21

       The process of removing the load borne by something.

   19. 22

       The process of flowing out.

   20. 23

       The act of releasing an accumulated charge.

   21. 24

       The volume of water transported by a river in a certain amount of time, usually in units…

       The volume of water transported by a river in a certain amount of time, usually in units of m³/s (cubic meters per second).

   22. 25

       The act of accomplishing (an obligation) or repaying a debt etc.

       The act of accomplishing (an obligation) or repaying a debt etc.; performance.

       • Whereof what's past is prologue, what to come / In yours and my discharge.
       • She [the Queen] was assisted in the discharge of her solemn functions by fourteen sacred women, one for each of the altars of Dionysus.
   23. 26

       Release from liability, as granted to someone having served in a position of trust, such…

       Release from liability, as granted to someone having served in a position of trust, such as to the officers and governors of a corporate body.

       • After having granted discharge from liability, the general meeting of shareholders may not demand for the company compensation for matters which it had knowledge of when granting discharge.

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