Other forms: departed, departing, departs
To depart is to go away from a place. The train departs at nine, departed for London, departing passengers.
It is formal, and leave is the everyday word — but depart is standard in transport: departures board, departure lounge, the flight departs. Depart from also means to differ from what was agreed: depart from the script, a departure from tradition. Note the departed, which is a formal term for those who have died; and that departure and departing appear on about every airport sign in the world.
1verbdepartTo go away from a place.
“The train to Edinburgh departs from platform six.”
2verbdifferTo differ from what was agreed.
“The film departs from the book in several important ways.”
depart is a going away.
Also accepted in games: leave
Old French departir means to divide or part, from Latin dis plus partire. Departing was separating before it was going, which is why departure and part are the same word.
Proto-Indo-European
*perh₃-
Latin
departiō — to divide
Old French
departir
English, today
depart
From Old French departir, from Latin departiō (“to divide”), from dē + partiō.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA