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unharness - 4 dictionary results

un⋅har⋅ness

  [uhn-hahr-nis]
Use unharness in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to strip of harness; detach the harness from (a horse, mule, etc.).
2. to divest of armor, as a knight or warhorse.
Origin:
1400–50; ME onharnesen. See un- 2 , harness
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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un·har·ness   (ŭn-här'nĭs)   
tr.v.   un·har·nessed, un·har·ness·ing, un·har·ness·es
  1. To remove the harness or similar equipment from.
  2. To release or liberate (energy or passions, for example).
  3. To remove the armor from (a wearer).
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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Unharness

Un*har"ness\, v. t. [1 st pref. un- + harness.]

1. To strip of harness; to loose from harness or gear; as, to unharness horses or oxen. --Cowper.

2. To disarm; to divest of armor. --Holinshed.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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unharness 
c.1435, "divest of armor," from un- (2) + harness (v.). Cf. Du. ontharnassen "to disarm." Meaning "to free (a horse) from harness" is recorded from 1611.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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