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pre·scind

(prĭ-sĭnd)

v. pre·scind·ed, pre·scind·ing, pre·scinds

v. intr.

To withdraw one's attention from something: “Those who subscribe to the theory of art for art's sake believe that they can prescind from the realities of their society and create art without any ideology, as pure aesthetes” (Nicanor G. Tiongson).

v. tr.

To separate or detach in thought: “Although we can prescind space from colour, we cannot prescind colour from space” (Cheryl J. Misak).

[Latin praescindere, to cut off in front : prae-, pre- + scindere, to cut off, split; see skei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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