Discharge \Dis*charge"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discharged; p.
pr. & vb. n. Discharging.]
[OE. deschargen, dischargen, OF.
deschargier, F. d['e]charger; pref. des- (L. dis) + chargier,
F. charger. See Charge.]
1. To relieve of a charge, load, or burden; to empty of a
load or cargo; to unburden; to unload; as, to discharge a
vessel.
2. To free of the missile with which anything is charged or
loaded; to let go the charge of; as, to discharge a bow,
catapult, etc.; especially, said of firearms, -- to fire
off; to shoot off; also, to relieve from a state of
tension, as a Leyden jar.
The galleys also did oftentimes, out of their prows,
discharge their great pieces against the city.
--Knolles.
Feeling in other cases discharges itself in indirect
muscular actions. --H. Spencer.
3. To of something weighing upon or impeding over one, as a
debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.;
to absolve; to acquit; to clear.
Discharged of business, void of strife. --Dryden.
In one man's fault discharge another man of his
duty. --L'Estrange.
4. To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from
service; to dismiss.
Discharge the common sort With pay and thanks.
--Shak.
Grindal . . . was discharged the government of his
see. --Milton.
5. To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty;
as, to discharge a prisoner.
6. To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden; to take
out, as that with which anything is loaded or filled; as,
to discharge a cargo.
7. To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.
They do discharge their shot of courtesy. --Shak.
8. To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.
We say such an order was ``discharged on appeal.''
--Mozley & W.
The order for Daly's attendance was discharged.
--Macaulay.
9. To throw off the obligation of, as a duty or debt; to
relieve one's self of, by fulfilling conditions,
performing duty, trust, and the like; hence, to perform or
execute, as an office, or part.
Had I a hundred tongues, a wit so large As could
their hundred offices discharge. --Dryden.
10. To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay
one's debt or obligation to. [Obs.]
If he had The present money to discharge the Jew.
--Shak.
1. To give forth; to emit or send out; as, a pipe discharges
water; to let fly; to give expression to; to utter; as,
to discharge a horrible oath.
12. To prohibit; to forbid. [Scot. Obs.]
--Sir W. Scott.
Discharging arch (Arch.), an arch over a door, window, or
other opening, to distribute the pressure of the wall
above. See Illust. of Lintel.
Discharging piece, Discharging strut (Arch.), a piece set
to carry thrust or weight to a solid point of support.
Discharging rod (Elec.), a bent wire, with knobs at both
ends, and insulated by a glass handle. It is employed for
discharging a Leyden jar or an electrical battery. See
Discharger.
Syn: See Deliver.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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