I. də̇s(h)ˈchärj, ˈdis(h)ˌch-, -chȧj verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English dischargen, from Middle French descharger, from Old French deschargier, from Late Latin discarricare, from Latin dis- dis- (I) + Late Latin carricare to load — more at charge
transitive verb
1. : to relieve of a charge, load, or burden:
a. : to empty of a cargo : unload
discharge a ship
b. archaic : to rid or deprive especially of something that burdens
c. : to free from something that burdens : exempt : release from an obligation
discharged from further payment of taxes
d. obsolete : to clear of an accusation or charge : acquit , exonerate
e. : to project the missile of : fire
discharge a gun
f. : to relieve the electrical tension or release the energy of by withdrawal or emission of that which charges
discharge a Leyden jar
discharge a storage battery
2.
a. : to let go : clear out : remove
discharge a cargo
the train discharges passengers
b. : to send forth (as a projectile) : shoot : let fly : fire
discharge an arrow
c. : to set at liberty : release from confinement, custody, or care
discharge a prisoner
discharged from parole
discharge a patient from the hospital
d.
(1) : to give outlet to : pour forth : emit
the river discharges its waters into the bay
a motor discharges a certain amount of fumes
a boil discharging pus
(2) : to release or give vent to (as a pent-up emotion or repressed impulse)
sometimes impossible … to discharge our emotions upon their proper objects — T.V.Smith
into her diary she discharged her fury and brooding loneliness
(3) : utter , pronounce
he discharged a string of oaths
discharging abuse on all his critics
3.
a.
(1) : to dismiss from employment : terminate the employment of
a rich man can discharge anyone in his employment who displeases him — G.B.Shaw
(2) : to end formally the service of : release from duty
discharge a soldier
discharge a jury
discharge a committee with thanks to its members
b.
(1) : to get rid of (as a debt or duty) by paying or performing
he discharged his liabilities
: fulfill , execute
discharge one's duties effectively
(2) obsolete : to act the part of
not a man in all Athens able to discharge Pyramus but he — Shakespeare
c. obsolete : to get rid of (as an office or obligation) by doing away with
d.
(1) obsolete : to make a settlement with (as a creditor)
the present money to discharge the Jew — Shakespeare
(2) archaic : to pay for : pay
e. : to set aside : dismiss legally : annul
discharge a court order
f. : to release (a legislative committee) from further consideration of a bill in order to bring it before the house for action
they moved to discharge the committee
4. now chiefly Scotland : prohibit , forbid
5.
a. : to receive and distribute (as the weight of a wall above an opening)
b. : to relieve (as an opening or the lintel spanning an opening) from the weight of a wall
6.
a. : to bleach out or to remove (color or dye) in dyeing and printing textiles usually by a chemical process
discharge the blue color from a dyed fabric
b. : to remove the color from (a dyed fabric) in this manner
7. : to cancel the record of the loan of (a library book) upon its return
intransitive verb
1. : to throw off or deliver a load, charge, or burden : unload
2.
a. : to go off (as of a gun)
b. : run
some dyes discharge
c. : to emit or give vent to fluid or other contents
the water pipe discharges freely
Synonyms: see dismiss , free , perform
II. ˈdis(h)ˌch-, də̇s(h)ˈch- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French descharge, from Old French, from deschargier
1.
a. : the act of relieving of something that oppresses (as an obligation, accusation, penalty) : acquittance , dismissal , release
ask for the discharge of a debtor
b. : something that discharges or releases (as from imprisonment, an obligation, or a liability) ; especially : a certification of release or payment
produced his discharge as evidence
2. : the state or fact of being discharged or relieved (as of a debt, obligation, or accusation) : acquittal , exoneration
received a full discharge from responsibility for the incident
3. : the act of discharging : removal of a load : unloading
the discharge of a ship
the discharge of a cargo
4. : legal release from confinement : liberation
ordering a conditional discharge of the alien on habeas corpus — Harvard Law Review
5. : a firing off : expulsion of a charge : explosion
a discharge of arrows
an artillery discharge
6.
a. : a flowing or issuing out ; also : a rate of flow : emission , vent
a rapid discharge of water from a pipe
a discharge of spores from a fungus
b. : something that is emitted or evacuated
a purulent discharge from a wound
profuse intestinal discharges
7. : the act of removing or getting rid of an obligation or liability (as by the payment of a debtor the performance of a trust or duty) : fulfillment , accomplishment
active in the discharge of his professional functions
8.
a. : release or dismissal especially from an office or employment
the discharge of a worker
b.
(1) : the dismissal of a court's mandate
(2) : the release of a bankrupt as a result of bankruptcy proceedings and after his estate has been settled
c. : complete separation from the military service ; also : the certificate verifying the service performed and the separation
9.
a. : a composition used for removing color from a dyed fabric : a discharging agent
b. : the removal of color from a dyed fabric
acid discharge of Turkey red
c. : the effect produced on a dyed fabric by discharging
a white discharge is obtained
10.
a. : the equalization of a difference of electric potential by a transfer of electricity, the character of the equalization being determined by the medium through which it occurs, by the amount of difference of potential, and by the form of the terminal conductors on which the difference exists — see brush discharge , disruptive discharge , glow discharge , oscillatory discharge
b. : the converting of the chemical energy of a voltaic cell or battery into electrical energy
11. : the transfer of an impulse from nerve fiber to effector
III. adjective
: of, relating to, or produced by the process of discharging in dyeing and printing textiles
IV. intransitive verb
: to release electrical energy by a discharge