dereliction

English

Etymology

From Latin dērelictiō (“neglect, abandonment”), from dērelinquō (“I neglect, abandon”), from dē- + re- + linquō (“I leave”).

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɛɹ.ɪ.ˈlɪk.ʃən/
• Rhymes: -ɪkʃən
• Hyphenation: der‧e‧lic‧tion

Noun

dereliction (countable and uncountable, plural derelictions)

1. Willful neglect of one's duty.

   The new soldier did not clean his cabin and was scolded for dereliction and disobedience.

   What he did was a terrible dereliction of duty.

   • 2019 May 19, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club‎:

     And his final act—leaving the Watch to accompany Tormund and the Wildlings back into the woods North of the wall—no longer seems like a dereliction of duty. It’s the recovery of duty, found by a man who feels he betrayed his queen, who thinks there’s no longer a place for him in these lands.

2. The act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned.
   • 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. , 2nd edition, London: Francis Ashe , →OCLC:

     To this we must contend with prayer , with actual dereliction and seposition of all our other affairs

   • 2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The Network Rail Community Award: Saltash and Stow”, in RAIL, number 946, page 58:

     After years of unsympathetic commercial use and dereliction, nothing of note remained inside, which accordingly has been reconfigured with modern amenities such as underfloor heating.

3. Land gained from the water by a change of water-line.

Translations

Anagrams

• clinoedrite, intercoiled