- abandon
- late 14c., "to subjugate, subdue," from O.Fr. abandoner "surrender," from à "at, to" + bandon "power, jurisdiction," in phrase mettre à bandon "to give up to a public ban," from L. bannum, "proclamation," from a Frankish word related to ban (v.). Etymologically, the word carries a sense of "put someone under someone else's control." Meaning "to give up absolutely" is from late 14c. Related: Abandoned; abandoning. The noun sense of "letting loose, surrender to natural impulses" (1822) is from Fr. abandon.