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Webster 1913 Edition

Discharge

Dis-charge′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Discharged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Discharging
.]
[OE.
deschargen
,
dischargen
, OF.
deschargier
, F.
décharger
; pref.
des-
(L.
dis
) +
chargier
, F.
charger
. See
Charge
.]
1.
To relieve of a charge, load, or burden; to empty of a load or cargo; to unburden; to unload;
as, to
discharge
a vessel
.
2.
To free of the missile with which anything is charged or loaded; to let go the charge of;
as, to
discharge
a bow, catapult, etc.
; especially, said of firearms, – to fire off; to shoot off; also, to relieve from a state of tension, as a Leyden jar.
The galleys also did oftentimes, out of their prows,
discharge
their great pieces against the city.
Knolles.
Feeling in other cases
discharges
itself in indirect muscular actions.
H. Spencer.
3.
To of something weighing upon or impeding over one, as a debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.; to absolve; to acquit; to clear.
Discharged
of business, void of strife.
Dryden.
In one man’s fault
discharge
another man of his duty.
L'Estrange.
4.
To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from service; to dismiss.
Discharge
the common sort
With pay and thanks.
Shakespeare
Grindal . . . was
discharged
the government of his see.
Milton.
5.
To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty;
as, to
discharge
a prisoner
.
6.
To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden; to take out, as that with which anything is loaded or filled;
as, to
discharge
a cargo
.
7.
To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.
They do
discharge
their shot of courtesy.
Shakespeare
8.
To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.
We say such an order was “
discharged
on appeal.”
Mozley & W.
The order for Daly's attendance was
discharged
.
Macaulay.
9.
To throw off the obligation of, as a duty or debt; to relieve one's self of, by fulfilling conditions, performing duty, trust, and the like; hence, to perform or execute, as an office, or part.
Had I a hundred tongues, a wit so large
As could their hundred offices
discharge
.
Dryden.
10.
To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay one's debt or obligation to.
[Obs.]
If he had
The present money to
discharge
the Jew.
Shakespeare
11.
To give forth; to emit or send out;
as, a pipe
discharges
water
; to let fly; to give expression to; to utter;
as, to
discharge
a horrible oath
.
12.
To prohibit; to forbid.
[Scot. Obs.]
Sir W. Scott.
Syn. – See
Deliver
.

Dis-charge′

,
Verb.
I.
To throw off or deliver a load, charge, or burden; to unload; to emit or give vent to fluid or other contents;
as, the water pipe
discharges
freely
.
The cloud, if it were oily or fatty, would not
discharge
.
Bacon.

Dis-charge′

,
Noun.
[Cf. F.
décharge
. See
Discharge
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
The act of discharging; the act of relieving of a charge or load; removal of a load or burden; unloading;
as, the
discharge
of a ship;
discharge
of a cargo.
2.
Firing off; explosive removal of a charge; explosion; letting off;
as, a
discharge
of arrows, of artillery
.
3.
Act of relieving of something which oppresses or weighs upon one, as an obligation, liability, debt, accusation, etc.; acquittance;
as, the
discharge
of a debtor
.
4.
Act of removing, or getting rid of, an obligation, liability, etc.; fulfillment, as by the payment of a debt, or the performance of a trust or duty.
Indefatigable in the
discharge
of
business
.
Motley.
Nothing can absolve us from the
discharge
of those duties.
L'Estrange.
5.
Release or dismissal from an office, employment, etc.; dismission;
as, the
discharge
of a workman by his employer
.
6.
Legal release from confinement; liberation;
as, the
discharge
of a prisoner
.
7.
The state of being discharged or relieved of a debt, obligation, office, and the like; acquittal.
Too secure of our
discharge

From penalty.
Milton.
8.
That which discharges or releases from an obligation, liability, penalty, etc., as a price of ransom, a legal document.
Death, who sets all free,
Hath paid his ransom now and full
discharge
.
Milton.
9.
A flowing or issuing out; emission; vent; evacuation; also, that which is discharged or emitted;
as, a rapid
discharge
of water from the pipe
.
The hemorrhage being stopped, the next occurrence is a thin serous
discharge
.
S. Sharp.
Charge and discharge
.
(Equity Practice)
See under
Charge
,
Noun.
–
Paralytic discharge
(Physiol.)
,
the increased secretion from a gland resulting from the cutting of all of its nerves.

Webster 1828 Edition

Discharge

DISCHARGE

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To unload, as a ship; to take out, as a cargo; applied both to the ship and the loading. We say, to discharge a ship; but more generally, to discharge a cargo or the lading of the ship.
2.
To free from any load or burden; to throw off or exonerate; as, discharge of business.
3.
To throw off a load or charge; to let fly; to shoot; applied to fire-arms; as, to dis-charge a pistol or a cannon; or to discharge a ball or grape-shot.
4.
To pay; as, to discharge a debt, a bond, a note.
5.
To send away, as a creditor by payment of what is due to him. He discharge his creditors.
6.
To free from claim or demand; to give an acquittance to, or a receipt in full, as to a debtor. The creditor discharged his debtor.
7.
To free from an obligation; as, to discharge a man from further duty or service; to discharge a surety.
8.
To clear from an accusation or crime; to acquit; to absolve; to set free; with of; as, to discharge a man of all blame.
9.
To throw off or out; to let fly; to give vent to; as, to discharge a horrible oath; to discharge fury or vengeance.
10.
To perform or execute, as a duty or office considered as a charge. One man discharges the office of a sheriff; another that of a priest. We are all bound to discharge the duties of piety, of benevolence and charity.
11.
To divest of an office or employment; to dismiss from service; as, to discharge a steward or a servant; to discharge a soldier or seaman; to discharge a jury.
12.
To dismiss; to release; to send away from any business or appointment.
Discharge your powers to their several counties.
13.
To emit or send out; as, an ulcer discharges pus; a pipe discharges water.
14.
To release; to liberate from confinement; as, to discharge a prisoner.
15.
To put away; to remove; to clear from; to destroy. In general, to throw off any load or incumbrance; to free or clear.

DISCHARGE

,
Verb.
I.
To break up.
The cloud, if it were oily or fatty, would not discharge.

DISCHARGE

, n.
1.
An unloading, as of a ship; as the discharge of a cargo.
2.
A throwing out; vent; emission; applied to a fluid, a flowing or issuing out, or a throwing out; as the discharge of water from a spring, or from a spout; applied to fire-arms, an explosion; as a discharge of cannon.
3.
That which is thrown out; matter emitted; as a thin serous discharge; a purulent discharge.
4.
Dismission from office or service; or the writing which evidences the dismission. The general, the soldier, obtains a discharge.
5.
Release from obligation, debt or penalty; or the writing which is evidence of it; an acquittance; as, the debtor has a discharge.
6.
Absolution from a crime or accusation; acquittance.
7.
Ransom; liberation; price paid for deliverance.
8.
Performance; execution; applied to an office, trust or duty. A good man is faithful in the discharge of his duties, public and private.
9.
Liberation; release from imprisonment or other confinement.
10.
Exemption; escape.
There is no discharge in that war. Ecclesiastes 8.
11.
Payment, as of a debt.

Definition 2024

discharge

discharge

English

Verb

discharge ‎(third-person singular simple present discharges, present participle discharging, simple past and past participle discharged)

  1. To accomplish or complete, as an obligation.
    • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 3 scene 1
      O most dear mistress, / The sun will set before I shall discharge / What I must strive to do.
  2. To free of a debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.; to absolve; to acquit; to clear.
    • Dryden
      Discharged of business, void of strife.
    • L'Estrange
      In one man's fault discharge another man of his duty.
  3. To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay one's debt or obligation to.
    • Shakespeare
      If he had / The present money to discharge the Jew.
  4. To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.
    • Macaulay
      The order for Daly's attendance was discharged.
  5. To expel or let go.
    • H. Spencer
      Feeling in other cases discharges itself in indirect muscular actions.
  6. To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.
    • Shakespeare
      They do discharge their shot of courtesy.
  7. (electricity) To release (an accumulated charge).
  8. To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from service; to dismiss.
    • Shakespeare
      Discharge the common sort / With pay and thanks.
    • Milton
      Grindal […] was discharged the government of his see.
    1. (medicine) To release (an inpatient) from hospital.
    2. (military) To release (a member of the armed forces) from service.
  9. To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty.
    to discharge a prisoner
  10. To operate (any weapon that fires a projectile, such as a shotgun or sling).
    • Knolles
      The galleys also did oftentimes, out of their prows, discharge their great pieces against the city.
    • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter IV
      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.
  11. To release (an auxiliary assumption) from the list of assumptions used in arguments, and return to the main argument.
  12. To unload a ship or another means of transport.
  13. 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
  14. To give forth; to emit or send out.
    A pipe discharges water.
  15. To let fly; to give expression to; to utter.
    He discharged a horrible oath.
  16. (transitive, textiles) 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
  17. (obsolete, Scotland) To prohibit; to forbid.

Translations

Noun

discharge ‎(countable and uncountable, plural discharges)

  1. (medicine, uncountable) pus or exudate (other than blood) from a wound or orifice, usually due to infection or pathology
  2. the act of accomplishing (an obligation); performance
    • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 2 scene 1
      Whereof what's past is prologue, what to come / In yours and my discharge.
  3. the act of expelling or letting go
  4. (electricity) the act of releasing an accumulated charge
  5. (medicine) the act of releasing an inpatient from hospital
  6. (military) the act of releasing a member of the armed forces from service
  7. (hydrology) the volume of water transported by a river in a certain amount of time, usually in units of m3/s (cubic meters per second)

Translations

Etymology

Borrowing from Anglo-Norman descharger, from Old French deschargier ‎(“to unload”), from Late Latin discarricō ‎(“I unload”).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation)
    • (verb) enPR: dĭschäj', IPA(key): /dɪsˈtʃɑːdʒ/
    • (noun) enPR: dĭs'chäj, IPA(key): /ˈdɪstʃɑːdʒ/
  • (US)
    • (verb) enPR: dĭschärj', IPA(key): /dɪsˈtʃɑrdʒ/
    • (noun) enPR: dĭs'chärj, IPA(key): /ˈdɪstʃɑrdʒ/

Similar Results