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Abdicate

 - 3 dictionary results

ab⋅di⋅cate

  [ab-di-keyt] verb, -cat⋅ed, -cat⋅ing.
Use Abdicate in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, esp. in a formal manner: The aging founder of the firm decided to abdicate.
–verb (used with object)
2. to give up or renounce (authority, duties, an office, etc.), esp. in a voluntary, public, or formal manner: King Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne in 1936.
Origin:
1535–45; < L abdicātus renounced (ptp. of abdicāre), equiv. to ab- ab- + dicātus proclaimed (dic- (see dictum ) + -ātus -ate 1 )

Related forms:
ab⋅di⋅ca⋅ble  [ab-di-kuh-buhl] , adjective
ab⋅di⋅ca⋅tive  [ab-di-key-tiv, -kuh-] , adjective
ab⋅di⋅ca⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. resign, quit. 2. abandon, repudiate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Abdicate
ab·di·cate   (āb'dĭ-kāt')   
v.   ab·di·cat·ed, ab·di·cat·ing, ab·di·cates

v.   tr.
To relinquish (power or responsibility) formally.
v.   intr.
To relinquish formally a high office or responsibility.

[Latin abdicāre, abdicāt-, to disclaim : ab-, away; see ab-1 + dicāre, to proclaim; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]
ab'di·ca·ble (-kə-bəl) adj., ab'di·ca'tion n., ab'di·ca'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

abdicate 
1541, "to disown, disinherit (children)," from L. abdicatus, pp. of abdicare "disown, disinherit" (specifically abdicare magistratu "renounce office"), from ab- "away" + dicare "proclaim," from stem of dicere "to speak, to say" (see diction). Meaning "divest oneself of office" first recorded 1618.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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