disestablishment

English

Etymology

By surface analysis, dis- +‎ establishment, or, by surface analysis, dis- +‎ establish +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɪs.ɪsˈtæblɪʃ.mənt/

Noun

disestablishment (countable and uncountable, plural disestablishments)

  1. The downgrading or dissolution of something that had been established.
    Antonym: establishment
    Coordinate terms: nonestablishment; abolition, ban, banning, prohibition
    1. Specifically, the removal of state privileges or patronage from a given church; the removal of a policy of having an official governing religion.
      Antonym: establishment
      Coordinate term: nonestablishment
      • 1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 77:
        Disestablishment of the church would deprive the gentry of another property right – the right of presentation to a living, a right for which they or their ancestors had paid hard cash and which gave them useful opportunities of providing for a younger son or a poor relation.
      • 2009 October 21, Ruth Gledhill, The Times:
        As evangelicals defect in one direction and traditionalists in the other, and disestablishment beckons with the reform of the House of Lords […].

Derived terms