abdication
/ˌæb.dəˈkeɪ.ʃən/
abdication means the act of disowning or disinheriting a child. It carries an Arena rating of 1421, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, abdication ranks #1,463 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,130 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,226 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,345 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
abdication is pronounced /ˌæb.dəˈkeɪ.ʃən/.
Why “abdication” is a great word
The formal and public renunciation of sovereign power or another high office of supreme authority. From Latin abdicātiō ("renunciation"), from abdicō ("to renounce, disown"), from ab- ("away, off") + dicō ("to proclaim, declare"). First attested in English in 1552. Unlike resignation, which implies leaving a post, or relinquishment, a general letting go, abdication is the seismic, constitutional unbinding of a crown from a brow. It is the dry crackle of signed parchment in a hushed room, the deliberate step down from a dais into anonymity, and the hollow echo a scepter makes when it is laid quietly upon a cushion—the ultimate political act that is, in its final essence, profoundly personal.
Etymology
First attested in 1552. From Latin abdicātiō (“renunciation”), from abdicō. By surface analysis, abdicate + -ion.
noun
- The act of disowning or disinheriting a child.
- The act of abdicating; the renunciation of a high office, dignity, or trust, by its holder.
- The voluntary renunciation of sovereign power.e.g.“abdication of the throne, government, power, authority”
- The renunciation of interest in a property or a legal claim; abandonment.
- The action of being deposed from the seat of power.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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