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secession

 - 4 dictionary results

se⋅ces⋅sion

  [si-sesh-uhn]
Use secession in a Sentence
–noun
1. an act or instance of seceding.
2. (often initial capital letter) U.S. History. the withdrawal from the Union of 11 Southern states in the period 1860–61, which brought on the Civil War.
3. (usually initial capital letter) Fine Arts. a style of art in Germany and Austria concurrent with and related to Art Nouveau.
Origin:
1525–35; < L sēcessiōn- (s. of sēcessiō) withdrawal, equiv. to sēcess(us) (ptp. of sēcēdere to secede; see cession ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
se⋅ces⋅sion⋅al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To secession
se·ces·sion   (sĭ-sěsh'ən)   
n.  

  1. The act of seceding.

  2. often Secession The withdrawal of 11 Southern states from the Union in 1860-1861, precipitating the U.S. Civil War.


[Latin sēcessiō, sēcessiōn-, from sēcessus, past participle of sēcēdere, to secede; see secede.]
se·ces'sion·al adj.
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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Cultural Dictionary

secession

The withdrawal from the United States of eleven southern states in 1860 and 1861. The seceding states formed a government, the Confederacy, in early 1861. Hostilities against the remaining United States, the Union, began in April 1861 (see Fort Sumter), and the Civil War followed.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

secession 
1533, from L. secessionem (nom. secessio), from pp. stem of secedere "secede," from se- "apart" (see secret) + cedere "to go" (see cede). Originally in a Roman historical context, "temporary migration of plebeians from the city to compel patricians to address their grievances;" modern use in ref. to religious or political unions dates from 1660. Secede is attested from 1702, originally "to leave one's companions;" sense of "to withdraw from a political or religious alliance of union" is recorded from 1755. Secessionist first recorded 1860 in U.S. context (short form secesh is attested from 1861); the earlier noun had been seceder, but this had religious overtones, especially in ref. to Scottish Church history.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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