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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Discharge \Dis*charge"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Discharged}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Discharging}.] [OE. deschargen, dischargen, OF.
deschargier, F. d['e]charger; pref. des- (L. dis) chargier,
F. charger. See {Charge}.]
1. To relieve of a charge, load, or burden; to empty of a
load or cargo; to unburden; to unload; as, to discharge a
vessel.
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2. To free of the missile with which anything is charged or
loaded; to let go the charge of; as, to discharge a bow,
catapult, etc.; especially, said of firearms, -- to fire
off; to shoot off; also, to relieve from a state of
tension, as a Leyden jar.
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The galleys also did oftentimes, out of their prows,
discharge their great pieces against the city.
--Knolles.
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Feeling in other cases discharges itself in indirect
muscular actions. --H. Spencer.
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3. To of something weighing upon or impeding over one, as a
debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.;
to absolve; to acquit; to clear.
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Discharged of business, void of strife. --Dryden.
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In one man's fault discharge another man of his
duty. --L'Estrange.
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4. To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from
service; to dismiss.
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Discharge the common sort
With pay and thanks. --Shak.
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Grindal . . . was discharged the government of his
see. --Milton.
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5. To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty;
as, to discharge a prisoner.
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6. To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden; to take
out, as that with which anything is loaded or filled; as,
to discharge a cargo.
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7. To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.
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They do discharge their shot of courtesy. --Shak.
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8. To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.
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We say such an order was "discharged on appeal."
--Mozley & W.
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The order for Daly's attendance was discharged.
--Macaulay.
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9. To throw off the obligation of, as a duty or debt; to
relieve one's self of, by fulfilling conditions,
performing duty, trust, and the like; hence, to perform or
execute, as an office, or part.
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Had I a hundred tongues, a wit so large
As could their hundred offices discharge. --Dryden.
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10. To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay
one's debt or obligation to. [Obs.]
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If he had
The present money to discharge the Jew. --Shak.
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11. To give forth; to emit or send out; as, a pipe discharges
water; to let fly; to give expression to; to utter; as,
to discharge a horrible oath.
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12. To prohibit; to forbid. [Scot. Obs.] --Sir W. Scott.
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13. (Textile Dyeing & Printing) To bleach out or to remove or
efface, as by a chemical process; as, to discharge the
color from a dyed fabric in order to form light figures
on a dark ground.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]

{Discharging arch} (Arch.), an arch over a door, window, or
other opening, to distribute the pressure of the wall
above. See Illust. of {Lintel}.

{Discharging piece}, {Discharging strut} (Arch.), a piece set
to carry thrust or weight to a solid point of support.

{Discharging rod} (Elec.), a bent wire, with knobs at both
ends, and insulated by a glass handle. It is employed for
discharging a Leyden jar or an electrical battery. See
{Discharger}.

Syn: See {Deliver}.
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Discharge \Dis*charge"\, v. i.
To throw off or deliver a load, charge, or burden; to unload;
to emit or give vent to fluid or other contents; as, the
water pipe discharges freely.
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The cloud, if it were oily or fatty, would not
discharge. --Bacon.
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Discharge \Dis*charge"\, n. [Cf. F. d['e]charge. See
{Discharge}, v. t.]
1. The act of discharging; the act of relieving of a charge
or load; removal of a load or burden; unloading; as, the
discharge of a ship; discharge of a cargo.
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2. Firing off; explosive removal of a charge; explosion;
letting off; as, a discharge of arrows, of artillery.
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3. Act of relieving of something which oppresses or weighs
upon one, as an obligation, liability, debt, accusation,
etc.; acquittance; as, the discharge of a debtor.
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4. Act of removing, or getting rid of, an obligation,
liability, etc.; fulfillment, as by the payment of a debt,
or the performance of a trust or duty.
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Indefatigable in the discharge of business.
--Motley.
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Nothing can absolve us from the discharge of those
duties. --L'Estrange.
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5. Release or dismissal from an office, employment, etc.;
dismission; as, the discharge of a workman by his
employer.
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6. Legal release from confinement; liberation; as, the
discharge of a prisoner.
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7. The state of being discharged or relieved of a debt,
obligation, office, and the like; acquittal.
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Too secure of our discharge
From penalty. --Milton.
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8. That which discharges or releases from an obligation,
liability, penalty, etc., as a price of ransom, a legal
document.
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Death, who sets all free,
Hath paid his ransom now and full discharge.
--Milton.
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9. A flowing or issuing out; emission; vent; evacuation;
also, that which is discharged or emitted; as, a rapid
discharge of water from the pipe.
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The hemorrhage being stopped, the next occurrence is
a thin serous discharge. --S. Sharp.
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10. (Elec.) The equalization of a difference of electric
potential between two points. The character of the
discharge is mostly determined by the nature of the
medium through which it takes place, the amount of the
difference of potential, and the form of the terminal
conductors on which the difference exists. The discharge
may be alternating, continuous, brush, connective,
disruptive, glow, oscillatory, stratified, etc.
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{Charge and discharge}. (Equity Practice) See under {Charge},
n.

{Paralytic discharge} (Physiol.), the increased secretion
from a gland resulting from the cutting of all of its
nerves.
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electric current \electric current\, electrical current
\electrical current\,
the movement of electrically charged particles, atoms, or
ions, through solids, liquids, gases, or free space; the term
is usually used of relatively smooth movements of electric
charge through conductors, whether constant or variable.
Sudden movements of charge are usually referred to by other
terms, such as {spark} or {lightning} or {discharge}. In
metallic conductors the electric current is usually due to
movement of electrons through the metal. The current is
measured as the rate of movement of charge per unit time, and
is counted in units of amperes. As a formal definition, the
direction of movement of electric current is considered as
the same as the direction of movement of positive charge, or
in a direction opposite to the movement of negative charge.
Electric current may move constantly in a single direction,
called {direct current} (abbreviated {DC}), or may move
alternately in one direction and then the opposite direction,
called {alternating current} (abbreviated {AC}).
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