dis·man·tle

[dis-man-tl]
verb (used with object), dis·man·tled, dis·man·tling.
1.
to deprive or strip of apparatus, furniture, equipment, defenses, etc.: to dismantle a ship; to dismantle a fortress.
2.
to disassemble or pull down; take apart: They dismantled the machine and shipped it in pieces.
3.
to divest of dress, covering, etc.: The wind dismantled the trees of their leaves.

Origin:
1570–80; < Middle French desmanteler. See dis-1, mantle

dis·man·tle·ment, noun
dis·man·tler, noun
un·dis·man·tled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To dismantle
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World English Dictionary
dismantle (dɪsˈmæntəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to take apart
2.  to demolish or raze
3.  to strip of covering
 
[C17: from Old French desmanteler to remove a cloak from; see mantle]
 
dis'mantlement
 
n
 
dis'mantler
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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00:10
Dismantle is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dismantle
1570s, from M.Fr. desmanteler "to tear down the walls of a fortress," lit. "strip of a cloak," from des- "off, away" + manteler "to cloak" (see mantle). Related: Dismantled; dismantling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
We allowed airlines and car companies to dismantle our public transportation
  systems, especially rail and streetcars.
But the slowing market threatened to dismantle the neighborhood before it got
  off the ground.
Now your colleagues are defending one of key tenets in your book-kin
  selection-while you try to dismantle it.
Now, she's wanting to dismantle the master's house with the master's tools.
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