The act of voluntarily leaving a job or position, or accepting something undesirable but unavoidable.
From Latin 'resignare' meaning 'to unseal' or 'to give back,' combining 're-' (back) + 'signare' (to seal). Roman officials literally broke their official seals when leaving office, symbolically 'unsealing' their authority. The emotional meaning of accepting fate came from the idea of 'giving back' your resistance to God's will.
When you resign from a job, you're symbolically breaking an ancient Roman seal! Officials would literally destroy their wax seals when leaving office, 'unsealing' their power. This dramatic gesture of giving back authority became our everyday word for quitting.
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