Dismissal

/dɪsˈmɪsəl/ noun

Definition

The act of ending someone's employment or telling them to leave.

Etymology

From Middle English dismissen, derived from Old French dismis-, from Latin dimittere (dis- 'away' + mittere 'to send'). The meaning evolved from simply 'sending away' to the formal termination of employment in modern usage.

Kelly Says

The word dismissal contains the same Latin root as 'missile'—both involve something being 'sent away,' but dismissal sends away a person while a missile sends away a projectile, showing how the same root created wildly different meanings.

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