\Re*sign"\ (r?-z?n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Resigned}
(-z?nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Resigning}.] [F. r['e]signer, L.
resignare to unseal, annul, assign, resign; pref. re- re- +
signare to seal, stamp. See {Sign}, and cf. {Resignation}.]
1. To sign back; to return by a formal act; to yield to
   another; to surrender; -- said especially of office or
   emolument. Hence, to give up; to yield; to submit; -- said
   of the wishes or will, or of something valued; -- also
   often used reflexively.
         I here resign my government to thee.  --Shak.
         Lament not, Eve, but patiently resign What justly
         thou hast lost.                       --Milton.
         What more reasonable, than that we should in all
         things resign up ourselves to the will of God?
                                               --Tiilotson.
2. To relinquish; to abandon.
         He soon resigned his former suit.     --Spenser.
3. To commit to the care of; to consign. [Obs.]
         Gentlement of quality have been sent beyong the
         seas, resigned and concredited to the conduct of
         such as they call governors.          --Evelyn.
Syn: To abdicate; surrender; submit; leave; relinquish;
     forego; quit; forsake; abandon; renounce.
Usage: {Resign}, {Relinquish}. To resign is to give up, as if
       breaking a seal and yielding all it had secured;
       hence, it marks a formal and deliberate surrender. To
       relinquish is less formal, but always implies
       abandonment and that the thing given up has been long
       an object of pursuit, and, usually, that it has been
       prized and desired. We resign what we once held or
       considered as our own, as an office, employment, etc.
       We speak of relinquishing a claim, of relinquishing
       some advantage we had sought or enjoyed, of
       relinquishing seme right, privilege, etc. ``Men are
       weary with the toil which they bear, but can not find
       it in their hearts to relinquish it.'' --Steele. See
       {Abdicate}.