In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
severance, severing
(noun) the act of severing
Source: WordNet® 3.1
severing
present participle of sever
severing (plural severings)
The act by which something is severed.
• grievens, veerings
Source: Wiktionary
Sev"er, v. t. [imp. &. p. p. Severed; p. pr. & vb. n. Severing.] Etym: [OF. sevrer, severer, to separate, F. sevrer to wean, fr. L. separare. See Separate, and cf. Several.]
1. To separate, as one from another; to cut off from something; to divide; to part in any way, especially by violence, as by cutting, rending, etc.; as, to sever the head from the body. The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. Matt. xiii. 49.
2. To cut or break open or apart; to divide into parts; to cut through; to disjoin; as, to sever the arm or leg. Our state can not be severed; we are one. Milton.
3. To keep distinct or apart; to except; to exempt. I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there. Ex. viii. 22.
4. (Law)
Definition: To disunite; to disconnect; to terminate; as, to sever an estate in joint tenancy. Blackstone.
Sev"er, v. i.
1. To suffer disjunction; to be parted, or rent asunder; to be separated; to part; to separate. Shak.
2. To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish. The Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. Ex. ix. 4. They claimed the right of severing in their challenge. Macaulay.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
15 March 2025
(noun) the replacement of an edge or solid angle (as in cutting a gemstone) by a plane (especially by a plane that is equally inclined to the adjacent faces)
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.