What is "abandonment"

Abandonment \A*ban"don*ment\ (-ment), n. [Cf. F. abandonnement.]

1. The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.

   The abandonment of the independence of Europe.
   --Burke.

2. (Mar. Law) The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against.

3. (Com. Law)

   1. The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege, as to mill site, etc.

   2. The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband, or child; desertion.

4. Careless freedom or ease; abandon. [R.]
   --Carlyle. [1913 Webster] ||

1610s, from French abandonnement, from abandonner (see abandon (v.)).

n. 1 The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment. (Late 16^th century.)(R:SOED5: page=2) 2 The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband or child; desertion. 3 An abandoned building or structure. 4 (context legal English) The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege; relinquishment of right to secure a patent by an inventor; relinquishment of copyright by an author. (Early 19^th century.) 5 (context legal English) The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against. (Early 19^th century.) 6 The cessation of service on a particular segment of the lines of a common carrier, as granted by a government agency. 7 A refusal to receive freight so damaged in transit as to be worthless and render carrier liable for its value. 8 The self-surrender to an outside influence. (Mid 19^th century.) 9 abandon; careless freedom or ease; surrender to one's emotions. (Mid 19^th century.)

1. n: the act of giving something up [syn: forsaking, desertion]

2. withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility; "his abandonment of his wife and children left them penniless" [syn: desertion, defection]

3. the voluntary surrender of property (or a right to property) without attempting to reclaim it or give it away

In law, abandonment is the relinquishment, giving up or renunciation of an interest, claim, civil proceedings, appeal, privilege, possession, or right, especially with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting it. Such intentional action may take the form of a discontinuance or a waiver. This broad meaning has a number of applications in different branches of law. In common law jurisdictions, both common law abandonment and statutory abandonment of property may be recognized.

Common law abandonment is "the relinquishment of a right [in property] by the owner thereof without any regard to future possession by himself or any other person, and with the intention to or desert the right...." or "the voluntary relinquishment of a thing by its owner with the intention of terminating his ownership, and without [the intention of] vesting ownership in any other person; the giving up of a thing absolutely, without reference to any particular person or purpose...." By contrast, an example of statutory abandonment (albeit in a common law jurisdiction) is the abandonment by a bankruptcy trustee under .

In Scots law, failure to assert a legal right in a way that implies abandonment of that property is called "taciturnity", while the term "abandonment" in Scots law refers specifically to a procedure by which a party gives up civil proceedings or an appeal.

Abandonment, in philosophy, refers to the infinite freedom of humanity without the existence of a condemning or omnipotent higher power. Original existentialism explores the liminal experiences of anxiety, death, "the nothing" and nihilism; the rejection of science (and above all, causal explanation) as an adequate framework for understanding human being; and the introduction of " authenticity" as the norm of self-identity, tied to the project of self-definition through freedom, choice, and commitment. Existential thought bases itself fundamentally in the idea that one's identity is constituted neither by nature nor by culture, since to "exist" is precisely to constitute such an identity. It is from this foundation that one can begin to understand abandonment and forlornness.

Abandonment is a term often used by mystic and ascetic writers to signify the first stage of the union of the soul with God by conforming to God's will, for example in the work of Jean Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence:

Several recent Popes have referred to abandonment in their teachings. In 2011, Pope Benedict XV reflected that "prayer is not a reflection on one's self, but a complete abandonment to the word and will of God", and in 2013, Pope Francis spoke of Pope John XXIII's "daily abandonment to God's will" as "a lesson for all of us, and also for the Church of our time".

Emotional abandonment is a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded. People experiencing emotional abandonment may feel at loss, cut off from a crucial source of sustenance that has been withdrawn either suddenly or through a process of erosion. In a classic abandonment scenario, the severance of the emotional bond is unilateral, that is, it is the object of one’s attachment that has chosen to break the connection. Feeling rejected, a significant component of emotional abandonment, has a biological impact in that it activates the physical pain centers in the brain and can leave an emotional imprint in the brain’s warning system. Abandonment has been a staple of poetry and literature since ancient times.