noun
- an act or instance of departing: the time of departure; a hasty departure.
- divergence or deviation, as from a standard, rule, etc.: a departure from accepted teaching methods.
- Navigation.
- the distance due east or west traveled by a vessel or aircraft.
- point of departure.
- Surveying. the length of the projection, on the east-west reference line, of a survey line.
- Archaic. death.
noun
- the act or an instance of departing
- a deviation or variation from previous custom; divergence
- a project, course of action, venture, etcselling is a new departure for him
- nautical
- the net distance travelled due east or west by a vessel
- Also called: point of departurethe latitude and longitude of the point from which a vessel calculates dead reckoning
- a euphemistic word for death
mid-15c., from Old French deporteure “departure,” figuratively, “death,” from departir (see depart) + -ure (see -ure).