Dis*mem"ber*ment (?), n. [Cf. OF. desmembrement, F. d'emembrement.]
The act of dismembering, or the state of being dismembered; cutting in piece; mtilation; division; separation.
The Castilians would doubtless have resented the dismemberment of the unwieldy body of which they formed the head.
Macaulay.
© Webster 1913.