resignation

noun

Etymology: From Middle English resignacion, resignacioun, from Old French resignation, from Medieval Latin resignātiōnem, accusative of resignātio. Equivalent to resign + -ation.

1. The act of resigning.

   “Jane tendered her resignation to the board of directors, but they refused.”

   “I knew my Cabinet well, and despite Haig's reports that they were all holding firm I knew that there would be great pressure on them all, and great temptations, to make public demands for my resignation. That was something I had to prevent if I possibly could. I was determined not to appear to have resigned the presidency because of a consensus of staff or Cabinet opinion or because of public pressure from the people around me. For me and no less for the country, I believed that my resignation had to be seen as something that I had decided upon completely on my own.”

2. A written or oral declaration that one resigns.

   “hand in one's resignation”

3. An uncomplaining acceptance of something undesirable but unavoidable.

   “With resignation I acknowledged that after the accident I would not be able to ski again.”

4. The form by which a vassal returns the feu into the hands of a superior.