Demissions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Acts of formally giving up a position or office; the official notifications or letters indicating such resignations; the process by which someone relinquishes duties and responsibilities within a role
2. The formal process of stepping down from a job or official capacity; written or verbal statements announcing such departures; the act of vacating a post or authority
3. Instances of resigning from employment or an appointed role; documents or communications that declare these departures; the voluntary withdrawal from a designated position or charge

Etymology: "Demissions" is simply the plural of "demission," so its history is that of the singular noun. The word came into English from French "démission," which in turn comes from Latin "dēmissiō," a noun built on "dēmittō," meaning "to send down" or "to let fall." The Latin verb was a compound of "dē-," "down" or "away," and "mittere," "to send," the same root that gives English "missile" and "mission." Its basic sense was physical: letting something drop or lowering it. The step from "lowering" to "giving up a post" happened in the sense of sending oneself down from a position of rank or authority. Abstract uses of the noun in the sense of resigning an office, the meaning that dominates today, follow that same logic: a person lets go of a position and sets it down. The plural form "demissions" is used when referring to several such acts or formal announcements of them.

Synonyms: resignations, departures, quittings, withdrawals, step-downs

Antonyms: appointments, hirings, employments, installations, engagements