1630s, from French rescinder "cancel; cut off" (15c.), and directly from Latin rescindere "cancel, abolish, remove by cutting off," from re- "back" (see re-) + scindere "to cut, rend, tear asunder, split; split up, part, divide, separate," from PIE *skind-, from root *skei- "to cut, split." Related: Rescinded; rescinding.
