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dismember - 6 dictionary results

dis⋅mem⋅ber

  [dis-mem-ber]
Use dismember in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to deprive of limbs; divide limb from limb: The ogre dismembered his victims before he ate them.
2. to divide into parts; cut to pieces; mutilate.
3. to reduce, reorganize, or discontinue the services or parts of (a company, government agency, etc.): Our business was dismembered by the conglomerate that bought it.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME dismembren < AF, OF desmembrer, equiv. to des- dis- 1 + -membrer, v. deriv. of membre member

Related forms:
dis⋅mem⋅ber⋅er, noun
dis⋅mem⋅ber⋅ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dismember
dis·mem·ber   (dĭs-měm'bər)   
tr.v.   dis·mem·bered, dis·mem·ber·ing, dis·mem·bers
  1. To cut, tear, or pull off the limbs of.
  2. To divide into pieces.

[Middle English dismembren, from Old French desmembrer, from Vulgar Latin *dismembrāre : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin membrum, limb; see member.]
dis·mem'ber·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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Dismember

Dis*mem"ber\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dismembered; p. pr. & vb. n. Dismembering.] [OF. desmembrer, F. d['e]membrer; pref. des- (L. dis) + OF. & F. membre limb. See Member.]

1. To tear limb from limb; to dilacerate; to disjoin member from member; to tear or cut in pieces; to break up.

Fowls obscene dismembered his remains. --Pope.

A society lacerated and dismembered. --Gladstone.

By whose hands the blow should be struck which would dismember that once mighty empire. --Buckle.

2. To deprive of membership. [Obs.]

They were dismembered by vote of the house. --R. North.

Syn: To disjoint; dislocate; dilacerate; mutilate; divide; sever.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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dismember 
1297, from O.Fr. desmembrer, from M.L. dismembrare, from L. de- "take away" + membrum "limb" (see member).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: dis·mem·ber
Pronunciation: (')dis-'mem-b&r
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: dis·mem·bered;dis·mem·ber·ing /-b(&-)ri[ng]/
: to cut off or disjoin the limbs, members, or parts of —dis·mem·ber·ment /-b&r-m&nt/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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dismember dis·mem·ber (dĭs-měm'bər)
v. dis·mem·bered, dis·mem·ber·ing, dis·mem·bers
To amputate a limb or a part of a limb.

dis·mem'ber·ment n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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