Other forms: dismembered, dismembering, dismembers
To dismember is to cut a body into pieces. Dismember the corpse, dismembered remains, dismembered the empire.
It is a word for crime reports and for history: an empire or a country can be dismembered too, divided up among others, which is the older figurative use. The parts are limbs, which is what the word says — dis- plus the French for a limb. Note dismemberment.
1verbdismemberTo cut a body into pieces.
“The butcher quickly dismembered the chicken into legs, wings and breasts.”
2verbdivideTo divide a country or empire up.
“After the war, the victors dismembered the empire and created several new countries.”
dismember is a cutting apart.
Old French desmembrer is des- plus membre, a limb, from Latin membrum. Member comes from the same limb.
Old French
desmembrer
English, today
dismember
Built from
From Middle English -, from Old French desmembrer, from des- (“de-”) + membre (“limb”) + -er (“verbal suffix”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA