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dismantle

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Dismantling
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dis⋅man⋅tle

[dis-man-tl]
–verb (used with object), -tled, -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; < MF desmanteler. See dis- 1 , mantle


dis⋅man⋅tle⋅ment, noun
dis⋅man⋅tler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Dismantling
Directory of Demolition Contractors The Online Business Directory.
www.business.com
dis·man·tle   (dĭs-mān'tl)   
tr.v.   dis·man·tled, dis·man·tling, dis·man·tles
    1. To take apart; disassemble; tear down.

    2. To put an end to in a gradual systematic way: dismantling the cumbersome regulations for interstate trucking.

  1. To strip of furnishings or equipment: dismantled the house before knocking it down.

  2. To strip of covering or clothing.


[Obsolete French desmanteler, to raze fortifications round a town, from Old French : des-, dis- + (em)manteler, to cover with a coat, shelter (ultimately from mantel, cloak; see mantle).]
dis·man'tle·ment 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

dismantle 
1579, 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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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