Unanchoring

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of freeing something from its fixing, such as lifting a ship's anchor from the seabed ; the detaching of something that had been secured or moored in position
2. Pulling loose a device that holds a vessel or object steady ; releasing something from the hold that kept it firmly fastened in one place
3. Loosening the grip of a mooring or fastening so that a boat or object drifts free ; casting off whatever had kept it held fast and stationary

Etymology: "Unanchoring" is the present participle of "unanchor", a verb formed in English by adding the prefix "un-" to "anchor" and meaning to release a ship or object from its anchor. The base word has a long pedigree: it traces back through Old English "ancor" and Latin "ancora" to the ancient Greek "ắnkūră", which referred to the hooked iron or stone weight that held a vessel in place. The Greek term may have pre-Greek roots, though its earlier origin is uncertain. The prefix "un-" is the more familiar part here. Its Old English ancestor "un-" was used to reverse an action, so "unanchor" simply means to undo anchoring. This kind of formation, a reversing "un-" added to a concrete noun turned into a verb, is common in English, and "unanchor" itself is a straightforward English coinage built from parts already in the language.

Synonyms: release, loosen

Antonyms: anchor, moor