abandon

Where does the word "abandon" come from? It comes from Old French a bandon, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Abandon’s story begins in Old French: a bandon meant “under one's control, or released from it.” Literally under one's control, from a phrase meaning to put under someone's jurisdiction, later to release from it. It reached English by 1300s as abandon. First recorded before 1393 in the work of the poet John Gower, who also wrote whole works in French and Latin. Today, abandon means to give up on or leave something or someone completely.

1. Stage 1 · Old French · medieval a bandon "under one's control, or released from it", literally under one's control, from a phrase meaning to put under someone's jurisdiction, later to release from it.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s abandon "to give up or leave something completely", first recorded before 1393 in the work of the poet John Gower, who also wrote whole works in French and Latin.