prescind

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The Word of the Day for October 31 is: 

prescind   \pri-SIND\   verb
    *1 intransitive verb : to withdraw one's attention 
     2 transitive verb : to detach for purposes of thought

Example sentence:
     If we prescind from the main issue for a moment, there is much to be 
gained by studying some corollary questions.

Did you know?
     "Prescind" derives from the Latin verb "praescindere," which means "to cut 
off in front." "Praescindere," in turn, was formed by combining "prae-" 
("before") and "scindere" ("to cut" or "to split"). So it should come as no 
surprise that when "prescind" began being used during the 17th century, it 
referred to "cutting off" one's attention from a subject. An earlier (now 
archaic) sense was even clearer about the etymological origins of the word, 
with the meaning "to cut short, off, or away" or "to sever." Other descendants 
of "scindere" include "rescind" and the rare "scissile" ("capable of being 
cut").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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