Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Detach \De*tach"\, v. i.
   To push asunder; to come off or separate from anything; to
   disengage.

         [A vapor] detaching, fold by fold, From those still
         heights.                                 --Tennyson.

Detach \De*tach"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Detached}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Detaching}.] [F. d['e]tacher (cf. It. distaccare,
   staccare); pref. d['e] (L. dis) + the root found also in E.
   attach. See {Attach}, and cf. {Staccato}.]
   1. To part; to separate or disunite; to disengage; -- the
      opposite of attach; as, to detach the coats of a bulbous
      root from each other; to detach a man from a leader or
      from a party.

   2. To separate for a special object or use; -- used
      especially in military language; as, to detach a ship from
      a fleet, or a company from a regiment.

   Syn: To separate; disunite; disengage; sever; disjoin;
        withdraw; draw off. See {Detail}.

Source : WordNet®

detach
     v 1: cause to become detached or separated; take off; "detach the
          skin from the chicken before you eat it" [ant: {attach}]
     2: military use: separate (a small unit) from a larger,
        especially for a special assignment; "detach a regiment"
     3: come to be detached; "His retina detached and he had to be
        rushed into surgery" [syn: {come off}, {come away}] [ant:
        {attach}]