Disencumber

/ˌdɪsɪnˈkʌmbər/ verb

Definition

To free someone or something from a burden, obligation, or hindrance that was weighing them down.

Etymology

From Middle French 'disencombrer', formed with the prefix 'dis-' (meaning to reverse or remove) combined with 'encumber' (from Old French 'encombrer', meaning to burden or obstruct). The term evolved in the 15th-16th centuries to mean the opposite of burdening.

Kelly Says

This word beautifully captures what many people desperately want—freedom from obligations—yet it's rarely used in everyday speech, probably because we reserve it for formal or literary contexts where we're trying to sound particularly eloquent about getting rid of problems.

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