unˈcrown, v.
[un-2 4. Cf. Du. ontkroonen (Sewel), G. entkrönen.]
1. trans. To take the crown from (a ruler); to deprive of royalty.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9084 ‘Tas of,’ he said, ‘mi kinges croun Þat i na langer agh to bere... I will þat yee vncroun me’. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 232 He hath done me wrong, And therefore Ile vn-Crowne him, er't be long. 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. ii. 85 The voyce which made all things, Which sceptereth Shepheards, and un-crowneth Kings. 1645 E. Calamy Indictm. Eng. 18 They seeke his life, and would uncrowne Him and his Posteritie. 1705 Hickeringill Priest-cr. (1721) i. 39 The insulting Priest..let him know, that he that Crown'd him could Uncrown him. 1747 W. Horsley Fool (1748) II. 222 Where an Inquisitor-General..is uncrowning the Monarchy. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xi. III. 7 They had meant to obtain from him some guarantee.., but not to uncrown and banish him. |
| fig. 1638 Ford Lady's Trial ii. iv, Prepare a welcome to uncrown the greatness Of his prevailing fates. |
| refl. 1846 Literary Gaz. Oct. 842 Francis II uncrowned himself, declaring that the holy Roman empire was at an end. |
2. To remove a crown from (the head); to divest
of (a crown).
| 1598 Florio, Disghirlandare, to vngarlande, to vncrowne. a 1658 Lovelace Poems (1864) 167 Of the wet pearls uncrown thy hair. 1697 Dryden æneis xii. 449 The Italians strip the dead Of his rich armour, and uncrown his head. |
b. fig. To uncover; to display.
| 1849 M. Arnold Shakespeare 4 The loftiest hill That to the stars uncrowns his majesty. |
Hence
unˈcrowning vbl. n.| 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. viii. §45. 499/1 That the mindes of the vulgar should not bee vnpossessed with like expectation of Iohns vn-crowning. 1862 R. H. Patterson Ess. Hist. & Art 357 The uncrowning of the Seven-Hilled Queen by the barbarians of the North. |