Etymology
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detach (v.)

1680s, "unfasten, disunite" (transitive), especially "separate for a special purpose or service," from French détacher "to detach, untie," from Old French destachier, from des- "apart" (see des-) + attachier "attach" (see attach). Related: Detached; detaching.

Entries linking to detach

des- 

the usual form of Latin dis- in Old Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Provençal, and French. In Middle English, interchanging with dis- (which in a later period displaced it), hence such form as desarmen, desdein, deshonour, desparagen, deschargen, despisen, etc.

attach (v.)
mid-14c. (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), "to take or seize (property or goods) by law," a legal term, from Old French atachier "fasten; arrest" (11c.), earlier estachier "to attach, fix; stake up, support" (Modern French attacher, also compare Italian attaccare), from a- "to" (see ad-) + base also found in detatch, perhaps from Frankish *stakon "a post, stake" or a similar Germanic word, from Proto-Germanic *stakon- "a stake," from PIE root *steg- (1) "pole, stick" (see stake (n.)).

Meaning "to fasten, affix, connect," which probably is the original sense etymologically, is attested in English from c. 1400. Related: Attached; attaching.
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Definitions of detach

detach (v.)
cause to become detached or separated; take off;
detach the skin from the chicken before you eat it
detach (v.)
separate (a small unit) from a larger, especially for a special assignment;
detach a regiment
detach (v.)
come to be detached;
His retina detached and he had to be rushed into surgery
Synonyms: come off / come away
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near detach

destructible

destruction

destructive

desuetude

desultory

detach

detachable

detachment

detail

detain

detainee

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