withdraw

Etymology 1

PIE word *wi From Middle English withdrawen, withdrauen (“to depart, leave, move away; (reflexive) to go away; (reflexive) to leave someone’s service; (often reflexive) to draw back or retreat (from a battlefield or dangerous place), withdraw; to abandon, desert; to go, go forth; to move; of the sea, water, etc.: to (cause to) ebb, recede, subside; to disappear; to slacken, wane; (often reflexive) to cease, stop; to desist, refrain; (reflexive) to go back on, recant; to avoid, eschew; to bring under control, contain, suppress; to curb, curtail; to delay, put off; to demur, refuse; to carry or take away, deprive of, remove; to contract, draw away or in, retract; to deny, refuse; to revoke; to withhold; to divert; to separate; to adopt, borrow, imitate”) [and other forms], from with- (prefix meaning ‘away; back’) + drawen, drauen (“to drag, pull, tow, tug, draw [and other senses]”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)); see further at with- and draw. The English word is analysable as with- + draw.

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To draw or pull (something) away or back from its original position or situation.
      1. To remove (someone or (reflexive, archaic) oneself) from a position or situation; specifically (military), to remove (soldiers) from a battle or position where they are stationed.
      2. (archaic) To draw or pull (a bolt, curtain, veil, or other object) aside.
   2. To take away or take back (something previously given or permitted); to remove, to retract.
      Hee that vvithdravveth the corne, the people vvill curſe him: but bleſſing ſhall bee on the head of him that ſelleth corne. A quotation from Proverbs 11:26 in the Bible. 1580, Michael Cope [i.e., Michel Cop], “The Eleuenth Chapter”, in M[arcelline] O[utred], transl., A Godly and Learned Exposition uppon the Prouerbes of Solomon:[…], London: […] Thomas Dawson,[…], for George Bishop, →OCLC, folio 191, verso
      The plan is to withdraw the Pacers from service by the end of the year. 2019 October, Rhodri Clark, “TfW seeks PRM derogation for Class 37 sets”, in Modern Railways, Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allen Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 87
   3. To cause or help (someone) to stop taking an addictive drug or substance; to dry out.
   4. To take (one's eyes) off something; to look away.
   5. (figurative)
      1. To disregard (something) as belonging to a certain group.
      2. To remove (a topic) from discussion or inquiry.
      3. To stop (a course of action, proceedings, etc.)
      4. To take back (a comment, something written, etc.); to recant, to retract.
         to withdraw false charges
   6. (archaic or obsolete) To distract or divert (someone) from a course of action, a goal, etc.
   7. (banking, finance) To extract (money) from a bank account or other financial deposit.
2. (intransitive)
   1. Chiefly followed by from: to leave a place, someone's presence, etc., to go to another room or place.
      1. (specifically, military) Of soldiers: to leave a battle or position where they are stationed; to retreat.
   2. Chiefly followed by from: to stop taking part in some activity; also, to remove oneself from the company of others, from publicity, etc.
   3. To stop talking to or interacting with other people and start thinking thoughts not related to what is happening.
   4. To stop taking an addictive drug or substance; to undergo withdrawal.
      Simon had tried to rob a bank while he was withdrawing, but he had been forced to surrender to the police after they had fired several volleys at him. 1992, Edward St Aubyn, chapter 5, in Bad News, London: Picador, published 2012, page 88
   5. Of a man: to remove the penis from a partner's body orifice before ejaculation; to engage in coitus interruptus.
      Like a fool, I agreed to let him make love to me as long as he withdrew before he ejaculated and he promised he would, but then he didn't. 2002, Debbie Macomber, “1968 [chapter name]”, in Between Friends, Don Mills, Ont.: Mira Books, page 119

Etymology 2

From Middle English withdrawe (“act of stopping a judicial proceeding”), from withdrawen, withdrauen (verb): see etymology 1.

noun

1. An act of drawing back or removing; a removal, a withdrawal or withdrawing.
2. (law) Synonym of withdraught (“a dismissal of a lawsuit with prejudice based on a plaintiff's withdrawal of the suit; a retraxit; also, a fine imposed on a plaintiff for such a dismissal”)