Abandonment \A*ban"don*ment\ (-ment), n. [Cf. F. abandonnement.]

1. The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.

The abandonment of the independence of Europe. --Burke.

2. (Mar. Law) The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against.

3. (Com. Law)
   (a) The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege, as to mill site, etc.
   (b) The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband, or child; desertion.

4. Careless freedom or ease; abandon. [R.]

--Carlyle.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)