— abdicable /ab"di keuh beuhl/ , adj. — abdicative /ab"di kay'tiv, -keuh-/ , adj. — abdicator , n.
/ab"di kayt'/ , v. , abdicated, abdicating .
v.i.
1. to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, esp. in a formal manner: The aging founder of the firm decided to abdicate.
v.t.
2. to give up or renounce (authority, duties, an office, etc.), esp. in a voluntary, public, or formal manner: King Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne in 1936.
[ 1535-45; abdicatus renounced (ptp. of abdicare ), equiv. to ab- AB- + dicatus proclaimed ( dic- (see DICTUM) + -atus -ATE 1 ) ]
Syn. 1. resign, quit. 2. abandon, repudiate.