The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Severance \Sev"er*ance\, n.
   1. The act of severing, or the state of being severed;
      partition; separation. --Milman.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Law) The act of dividing; the singling or severing of two
      or more that join, or are joined, in one writ; the putting
      in several or separate pleas or answers by two or more
      disjointly; the destruction of the unity of interest in a
      joint estate. --Bouvier.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

severance
    n 1: a personal or social separation (as between opposing
         factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations" [syn:
         rupture, breach, break, severance, rift, falling
         out]
    2: the act of severing [syn: severance, severing]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

69 Moby Thesaurus words for "severance":
   abscission, alteration, amputation, analysis, anatomization,
   atomization, butchering, change, chopping, clearance, cleavage,
   cutting, demarcation, deportation, desynonymization, detachment,
   dichotomy, differencing, differentiation, discard, discrimination,
   disequalization, disjunction, disposal, disposition, distinction,
   distinguishment, diversification, division, ejection, elimination,
   enucleation, eradication, excision, exile, expatriation, expulsion,
   fission, individualization, individuation, laceration, liquidation,
   modification, mutilation, ostracism, outlawing, outlawry,
   particularization, personalization, purge, removal, rending,
   resection, riddance, ripping, scission, section, segregation,
   separation, severalization, slashing, slicing, specialization,
   splitting, surgery, suspension, tearing, variation, withdrawal



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

SEVERANCE, pleading. When an action is brought in the name of several
plaintiffs, in which the plaintiffs must of necessity join, and one or more
of the persons so named do not appear, or make default after appearance, the
other may have judgment of severance, or, as it is technically called,
judgment ad sequendum solum.
     2. But in personal actions, with the exception of those by executors,
and of detinue for charters, there can be no summons and severance. Co. Lit.
139.
     3. After severance, the party severed can never be mentioned in the
suit, nor derive any advantage from it.
     4. When there are several defendants, each of them may use such plea
as, he may think proper for his own defence; and they may join in the same
plea, or sever at their discretion; Co. Litt. 303, a except perhaps, in the
case of dilatory pleas. Hob. 245, 250. But when the defendants have once
united in the plea, they cannot afterwards sever at the rejoinder, or other
later stage of the pleading. Vide, generally, Bro. Summ. and Sev.; 2 Rolle,
488; Archb. Civ. Pl. 59.



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

SEVERANCE, estates. The act by which any one of the unities of a joint
tenancy is effected, is so called; because the estate is no longer a joint
tenancy, but is severed.
     2. A severance may be effected in various ways, namely: 1. By
partition, which is either voluntary or compulsory. 2. By alienation of one
of the joint tenants, which turns the estate into a tenancy in common. 3. By
the purchase or descent of all the shares of the joint tenants, so that the
whole estate becomes vested in one only. Com. Dig. Estates by Grant, K 5; 1
Binn. R. 175.

     3. In another and a less technical sense, severance is the separation
of a part of a thing from another; for example, the separation of machinery
from a mill, is a severance, and, in that case, the machinery which while
annexed to the mill was real estate, becomes by the severance; personalty,
unless such severance be merely temporary. 8 Wend. R. 587.



U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):

Severance, CO -- U.S. town in Colorado
   Population (2000):    597
   Housing Units (2000): 207
   Land area (2000):     2.069528 sq. miles (5.360053 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.065733 sq. miles (0.170248 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    2.135261 sq. miles (5.530301 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            69150
   Located within:       Colorado (CO), FIPS 08
   Location:             40.535208 N, 104.850761 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Severance, CO
    Severance


U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):

Severance, KS -- U.S. city in Kansas
   Population (2000):    108
   Housing Units (2000): 53
   Land area (2000):     0.128303 sq. miles (0.332303 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    0.128303 sq. miles (0.332303 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            64025
   Located within:       Kansas (KS), FIPS 20
   Location:             39.767644 N, 95.250303 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     66087
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Severance, KS
    Severance