Literary notes about Discharge (AI summary)
The word "discharge" is employed with remarkable versatility in literature, conveying both concrete and abstract processes. In some instances it describes a physical act, as when a weapon liberates a forceful burst ([1]) or water is expelled through a narrow channel ([2]). In other contexts the term takes on a metaphorical or administrative nuance, referring to the fulfillment of duty or obligation—a character might be freed from service after years of commitment ([3]) or endeavor to discharge an errand with care ([4]). Even in less literal ways, "discharge" can capture the essence of releasing pent-up emotion or settling a debt, showing how authors use the term to bridge the tangible and the symbolic ([5], [6]).
- As the regiment of infantry broke, Dickey's Cavalry began to discharge their carbines, and fell into disorder.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - In less than thirty seconds the last gallon of water in the bilges had been lifted and sent, rushing through the discharge, overboard.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - He had serv'd nearly three years, and would have been entitled to his discharge in a few days.
— from Complete Prose Works by Walt Whitman - And now, my poor Rosina, Heaven grant me wisdom to discharge my errand aright!
— from Mosses from an old manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne - At each discharge, the square diminished and replied.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - Ah! this was the proper moment to discharge my debt!
— from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
