Hypertext Webster Gateway: "dismember"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Dismember \Dis*mem"ber\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Dismembered}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Dismembering}.] [OF. desmembrer, F.
d['e]membrer; pref. des- (L. dis) + OF. & F. membre limb. See
{Member}.]
1. To tear limb from limb; to dilacerate; to disjoin member
from member; to tear or cut in pieces; to break up.
Fowls obscene dismembered his remains. --Pope.
A society lacerated and dismembered. --Gladstone.
By whose hands the blow should be struck which would
dismember that once mighty empire. --Buckle.
2. To deprive of membership. [Obs.]
They were dismembered by vote of the house. --R.
North.
Syn: To disjoint; dislocate; dilacerate; mutilate; divide;
sever.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
dismember
v 1: separate the limbs from the body; "the tiger dismembered the
tourist"
2: divide into pieces; "our department was dismembered when our
funding dried up" [syn: {take apart}]
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