2. To free of the missile with which anything is charged or
loaded; to let go the charge of; as, to discharge a bow,
catapult, etc.; especially, said of firearms, -- to fire
off; to shoot off; also, to relieve from a state of
tension, as a Leyden jar.
The galleys also did oftentimes, out of their prows,
discharge their great pieces against the city.
--Knolles.
Feeling in other cases discharges itself in indirect
muscular actions. --H. Spencer.
3. To of something weighing upon or impeding over one, as a
debt, claim, obligation, responsibility, accusation, etc.;
to absolve; to acquit; to clear.
Discharged of business, void of strife. --Dryden.
In one man's fault discharge another man of his
duty. --L'Estrange.
4. To relieve of an office or employment; to send away from
service; to dismiss.
Discharge the common sort With pay and thanks.
--Shak.
Grindal . . . was discharged the government of his
see. --Milton.
5. To release legally from confinement; to set at liberty;
as, to discharge a prisoner.
6. To put forth, or remove, as a charge or burden; to take
out, as that with which anything is loaded or filled; as,
to discharge a cargo.
7. To let fly, as a missile; to shoot.
They do discharge their shot of courtesy. --Shak.
8. To set aside; to annul; to dismiss.
We say such an order was ``discharged on appeal.''
--Mozley & W.
The order for Daly's attendance was discharged.
--Macaulay.
9. To throw off the obligation of, as a duty or debt; to
relieve one's self of, by fulfilling conditions,
performing duty, trust, and the like; hence, to perform or
execute, as an office, or part.
Had I a hundred tongues, a wit so large As could
their hundred offices discharge. --Dryden.
10. To send away (a creditor) satisfied by payment; to pay
one's debt or obligation to. [Obs.]
If he had The present money to discharge the Jew.
--Shak.
11. To give forth; to emit or send out; as, a pipe discharges
water; to let fly; to give expression to; to utter; as,
to discharge a horrible oath.
12. To prohibit; to forbid. [Scot. Obs.] --Sir W. Scott.
{Discharging arch} (Arch.), an arch over a door, window, or
other opening, to distribute the pressure of the wall
above. See Illust. of {Lintel}.
{Discharging piece}, {Discharging strut} (Arch.), a piece set
to carry thrust or weight to a solid point of support.
{Discharging rod} (Elec.), a bent wire, with knobs at both
ends, and insulated by a glass handle. It is employed for
discharging a Leyden jar or an electrical battery. See
{Discharger}.
The cloud, if it were oily or fatty, would not
discharge. --Bacon.
2. Firing off; explosive removal of a charge; explosion;
letting off; as, a discharge of arrows, of artillery.
3. Act of relieving of something which oppresses or weighs
upon one, as an obligation, liability, debt, accusation,
etc.; acquittance; as, the discharge of a debtor.
4. Act of removing, or getting rid of, an obligation,
liability, etc.; fulfillment, as by the payment of a debt,
or the performance of a trust or duty.
Indefatigable in the discharge of business.
--Motley.
Nothing can absolve us from the discharge of those
duties. --L'Estrange.
5. Release or dismissal from an office, employment, etc.;
dismission; as, the discharge of a workman by his
employer.
6. Legal release from confinement; liberation; as, the
discharge of a prisoner.
7. The state of being discharged or relieved of a debt,
obligation, office, and the like; acquittal.
Too secure of our discharge From penalty. --Milton.
8. That which discharges or releases from an obligation,
liability, penalty, etc., as a price of ransom, a legal
document.
Death, who sets all free, Hath paid his ransom now
and full discharge. --Milton.
9. A flowing or issuing out; emission; vent; evacuation;
also, that which is discharged or emitted; as, a rapid
discharge of water from the pipe.
The hemorrhage being stopped, the next occurrence is
a thin serous discharge. --S. Sharp.