Disjoynen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To pull apart or divide things that had been united or fastened together in an older English usage
2. An archaic verb meaning to sever a connection so that parts that were once linked become separated
3. Used in older writing to describe breaking the union between two or more things previously held together

Etymology: In Latin, "disiungere" combined "dis-", meaning "apart", with "iungere", meaning "to join". The same root gave English "join" and "yoke", so the verb is a word for undoing a yoke. It reached Middle English through Old French "desjoindre", which kept the Latin sense of pulling apart what had been fastened together. The Middle English form "disjoynen" simply adds the infinitive ending "-en" to that French-derived stem, a common pattern for verbs borrowed in this period. Its modern descendant is "disjoin", which kept the sense of separating joined things but has largely fallen out of ordinary use.