WOTD - Rescind - Dec. 23

The Word of the Day for December 23, 2007 is:

rescind • \rih-SIND\ • verb
1 : to take away : remove
*2 : take back : cancel
3 : to make void (as an act) by action of the enacting authority or a superior authority : repeal

Example Sentence:
The union rescinded its call for a strike when management agreed to many of the workers' demands.

Did you know?
"Rescind" and the lesser-known words "exscind" and "prescind" all come from the Latin verb "scindere," which means "to cut" or "to split." "Rescind" was adapted from its Latin predecessor "rescindere" in the second half of the 16th century, and "prescind" (from "praescindere") and "exscind" (from "exscindere") followed in the mid-17th century. "Exscind" means "to cut off" or "to excise," and "prescind" means "to withdraw one's attention," but neither appears frequently in contemporary English. Of the three borrowings, only "rescind" established itself as a common English term. You might hear of someone rescinding a contract or an offer, or of a legislative body rescinding a law.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence