The acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable; the act of formally giving up a position.
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Latin14th centurywell-attested
From OldFrench 'resignation' and directly from Medieval Latin 'resignātiōnem' (nominative 'resignātiō'), noun of action from Latin 'resignāre' (to unseal, to cancel, to give back), composed of 're-' (back) and 'signāre' (to mark, to seal), from 'signum' (mark, sign, token). TheLatin 'signum' likely derives from PIE *sekw- (to follow, to perceive), the notion being that a sign is something that leads or directs the perceiver. This root also produced Latin 'sequī' (to follow), Old Irish 'sechithir' (follows
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'Resign' literally means 'to unseal' — to break theseal on a document and return it. All these words share Latin 'signum' (mark): a 'sign' is a mark, a 'signature' is your personal mark, a 'design' is a marking-out, and 'resignation' is an un-marking — the cancellation of your mark on a role.
is passive, involuntary acceptance. Both senses trace back to the original Latin image of breaking a seal — in one case you hand back the sealed authority, in the other you release your grip on expectation. Key roots: re- (Latin: "back, undoing"), signum (Latin: "mark, sign, token").