abandon

ABAN'DON, verb transitive [Fr. abandonner; Sp. and Port. abandonar; It. abbandonare; said to be from ban, and donner, to give over to the ban or proscription; or from a or ab and bandum, a flag or ensign.] 1. To forsake entirely; as to abandon a hopeless enterprize. Wo to that generation by which the testimony of God shall be abandoned. 2. To renounce and forsake; to leave with a view never to return; to desert as lost or desperate; as to abandon a country; to abandon a cause or party. 3. To give up or resign without control, as when a person yields himself, without restraint, to a propensity; as to abandon one's self to intemperance. Abandoned over and abandoned of are obsolete. 4. To resign; to yield, relinquish, or give over entirely. Verus abandoned the cares of empire to his wiser colleague. 5. In commerce, to relinquish to insurers all claim to a ship or goods insured, as a preliminary towards recovering for a total loss. ABAN'DON, noun One who totally forsakes or deserts. 2. A relinquishment. [not used.]