Part 324

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.

Syn. -- See Deliver.

Dis*charge", v. i. To throw off or deliver a load, charge, or burden; to unload; to emit or give vent to fluid or other contents; as, the water pipe discharges freely.

The cloud, if it were oily or fatty, would not discharge.

Bacon.

Dis*charge", n. [Cf. F. décharge. See Discharge, v. t.] 1. The act of discharging; the act of relieving of a charge or load; removal of a load or burden; unloading; as, the discharge of a ship; discharge of a cargo.

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.