To take down or remove; an archaic term meaning to assume or take upon oneself.
From Latin 'desumere,' composed of 'de-' (down) plus 'sumere' (to take). This rare English verb was borrowed during the medieval period but fell out of common use.
'Desume' is a beautiful example of how English borrowed words from Latin that seemed useful at the time but then got replaced by simpler alternatives—'take' was just easier to remember than 'desume,' so one survived and one didn't.
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