Abandoning or getting rid of something; in school slang, intentionally failing to attend a class or event; in aviation, making an emergency landing in water.
From 'ditch' (from Old English 'dic,' a waterway or trench). Different meanings developed: literal ditches in ground, then the idea of 'putting in a ditch' (discarding), then abandoning.
One word, three totally different meanings: you can ditch your old phone (throw it away), ditch school (skip it), or 'ditch an airplane' (emergency water landing). The school meaning came from 1920s slang and is probably American, but all meanings stem from the original idea of throwing something in a ditch.
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