The present participle of absent; the act of staying away from or removing oneself from a place or situation.
From absent (verb, from Latin absentare, to be away) + -ing (present participle suffix). The verb form evolved from the adjective absent to describe actively removing oneself.
Absenting yourself was actually recognized as a strategic political move in medieval England—influential nobles would absent themselves from court to avoid being forced to support unpopular kings, a form of silent protest.
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