Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Abandon \A*ban"don\ ([.a]*b[a^]n"d[u^]n), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   {Abandoned} (-d[u^]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Abandoning}.] [OF.
   abandoner, F. abandonner; a (L. ad) + bandon permission,
   authority, LL. bandum, bannum, public proclamation,
   interdiction, bannire to proclaim, summon: of Germanic
   origin; cf. Goth. bandwjan to show by signs, to designate
   OHG. ban proclamation. The word meant to proclaim, put under
   a ban, put under control; hence, as in OE., to compel,
   subject, or to leave in the control of another, and hence, to
   give up. See {Ban}.]
   1. To cast or drive out; to banish; to expel; to reject.
      [Obs.]

            That he might . . . abandon them from him. --Udall.

            Being all this time abandoned from your bed. --Shak.

   2. To give up absolutely; to forsake entirely; to renounce
      utterly; to relinquish all connection with or concern on;
      to desert, as a person to whom one owes allegiance or
      fidelity; to quit; to surrender.

            Hope was overthrown, yet could not be abandoned.
                                                  --I. Taylor.

   3. Reflexively: To give (one's self) up without attempt at
      self-control; to yield (one's self) unrestrainedly; --
      often in a bad sense.

            He abandoned himself . . . to his favorite vice.
                                                  --Macaulay.

   4. (Mar. Law) To relinquish all claim to; -- used when an
      insured person gives up to underwriters all claim to the
      property covered by a policy, which may remain after loss
      or damage by a peril insured against.

   Syn: To give up; yield; forego; cede; surrender; resign;
        abdicate; quit; relinquish; renounce; desert; forsake;
        leave; retire; withdraw from.

   Usage: {To Abandon}, {Desert}, {Forsake}. These words agree
          in representing a person as giving up or leaving some
          object, but differ as to the mode of doing it. The
          distinctive sense of abandon is that of giving up a
          thing absolutely and finally; as, to abandon one's
          friends, places, opinions, good or evil habits, a
          hopeless enterprise, a shipwrecked vessel. Abandon is
          more widely applicable than forsake or desert. The
          Latin original of desert appears to have been
          originally applied to the case of deserters from
          military service. Hence, the verb, when used of
          persons in the active voice, has usually or always a
          bad sense, implying some breach of fidelity, honor,
          etc., the leaving of something which the person should
          rightfully stand by and support; as, to desert one's
          colors, to desert one's post, to desert one's
          principles or duty. When used in the passive, the
          sense is not necessarily bad; as, the fields were
          deserted, a deserted village, deserted halls. Forsake
          implies the breaking off of previous habit,
          association, personal connection, or that the thing
          left had been familiar or frequented; as, to forsake
          old friends, to forsake the paths of rectitude, the
          blood forsook his cheeks. It may be used either in a
          good or in a bad sense.

Abandon \A*ban"don\, n. [F. abandon. fr. abandonner. See
   {Abandon}, v.]
   Abandonment; relinquishment. [Obs.]

Abandon \A`ban`don"\ ([.a]`b[aum]N`d[^o]N"), n. [F. See
   {Abandon}.]
   A complete giving up to natural impulses; freedom from
   artificial constraint; careless freedom or ease.

Source : WordNet®

abandon
     n 1: the trait of lacking restraint or control; freedom from
          inhibition or worry; "she danced with abandon" [syn: {wantonness},
           {unconstraint}]
     2: a feeling of extreme emotional intensity; "the wildness of
        his anger" [syn: {wildness}]
     v 1: forsake, leave behind; "We abandoned the old car in the
          empty parking lot"
     2: stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas, claims, etc.;
        "He abandoned the thought of asking for her hand in
        marriage"; "Both sides have to give up some calims in
        these negociations" [syn: {give up}]
     3: give up with the intent of never claiming again; "Abandon
        your life to God"; "She gave up her children to her
        ex-husband when she moved to Tahiti"; "We gave the
        drowning victim up for dead" [syn: {give up}]
     4: leave behind empty; move out of; "You must vacate your
        office by tonight" [syn: {vacate}, {empty}]
     5: leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the
        lurch; "The mother deserted her children" [syn: {forsake},
         {desolate}, {desert}]