divest

WOTD – 13 July 2010    

English

Etymology

Alteration of devest, after Latin divestire.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /daɪˈvɛst/, /dɪˈvɛst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛst

Verb

divest (third-person singular simple present divests, present participle divesting, simple past and past participle divested)

1. (transitive, archaic) To undress, disrobe.
   • 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew:

     Having divested the child he kissed her gently and gave her a little pat to make her stand off.

2. (transitive) To strip, deprive, or dispossess (someone) of something (such as a right, passion, privilege, or prejudice).

   You shall never divest me of my right to free speech.

   When I wake up, I make a point to divest myself of all my prejudices, ready to start the day.

3. (transitive) To sell off or be rid of through sale, especially of a subsidiary

   In 2011 the company divested an 81% majority stake in its Chinese subsidiary.

Related terms

• divestiture

Translations

undress — see undress

to strip, deprive, or dispossess of something

• Bulgarian: отнемам (bg) (otnemam), лишавам (bg) (lišavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 剝奪 (cmn), 剥夺 (cmn) (bōduó)

• German: berauben (de), entziehen (de)

• Japanese: 奪う (ja) (うばう, ubau)
• Russian: лишать (ru) (lišátʹ)  impf., лишить (ru) (lišítʹ)  pf., отнимать (ru) (otnimátʹ)  impf., отнять (ru) (otnjátʹ)  pf.
• Spanish: privar (es)