deaccession
VerbOpen English WordNet
Verb (1)
- sell (art works) from a collection, especially in order to raise money for the purchase of other art works“The museum deaccessioned several important works of this painter”More general sell
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
deaccession, de-accession transitive verb
Origin: de- + accession. Ca. 1970.
to sell (artwork); — used of sales of art by museums. The word appears to have been coined as a euphemism to avoid the negative connotations of the word “sell”, particularly for works donated by benefactors. The practise is justified as a means of acquiring funds for purchase of more valuable artworks.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC, WordNet 1.5