Surrender from Anglo-French surrendre = sur- (over) + rendre (to give back), from Vulgar Latin *rendere, from Latin reddere (re- + dare to give). PIE *deh₃-. Originally a Norman legal term for formally returning a lease. Expanded to military capitulation and spiritual yielding. Same root family as tradition, donate, data, pardon, perdition, and treason.
To yield possession or control of to another; to give oneself up to an enemy or authority; to relinquish a claim, right, or privilege.
From Anglo-French 'surrendre' (to deliver over, to yield up), formed from 'sur-' (over, upon — from Latin 'super') and 'rendre' (to give back, to render), from Vulgar Latin '*rendere,' an alteration of classical Latin 'reddere' (to give back, to return) formed from 're-' (back) + 'dare' (to give). The ultimate PIE root is *deh₃- (to give). The semantic composition of 'surrender' is therefore precise and layered: to give (dare) back
In Norman England, 'surrender' was primarily a legal term: to surrender a lease meant formally giving it back to the landlord. The insurance industry preserves this sense in 'surrender value' — the amount returned when you give a policy back before its term expires. The word entered English not