The etymological origin of the verb dismantle is found in the Old French dismantler . This term, in turn, derives from two Latin words: dis ( "des-" ) and mentellum (which can be translated as "tablecloth" or "veil" ).
The first meaning mentioned by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) in its dictionary refers to the destruction of the existing fortifications around a square. The concept also refers to the demolition or closure of any type of construction with the objective of suspending or canceling its activities .
For example: “The workers are on alert since the owner of the company began to dismantle the facilities,” “The economic crisis forced me to dismantle the factory,” “The authorities announced that they are going to dismantle the prison and then demolish the building.” and build a park.”
If a merchant, for any reason, decides to close their premises, they will have to dismantle it. This involves removing furniture and infrastructure : chairs, tables, computers , etc. Once the premises are empty, it can be said that it was dismantled.
Among the synonyms of dismantle, therefore, are abandon, disarm, disinhabit and even destroy. On the contrary, words such as fix, build, raise, supply or replace, among others, are antonyms of this term.
Dismantle is also linked to disorganizing or dismantling something . The police can report that they managed to dismantle a criminal gang since they captured five of its members, including the one who is indicated as their leader or boss. In this case, dismantling is associated with the impossibility of the band in question to continue operating. In the field of sports , there is talk of dismantling a team when the team loses its main figures or most of its members.
With some frequency there is news that the police or any other security force and body has proceeded to dismantle a criminal gang. Specifically, among the most common are gangs related to drug trafficking and even human trafficking. In this way, illegal and criminal activities that seriously endanger not only the well-being of society but also and above all that of their victims are put to an end.
At the political level, the term in question is also widely used. A good example of this is that, for example, in Spain the VOX party includes in its program its project to dismantle the public pension system. Specifically, its objective is to convert this system into a mixed one, where half of the current contributions would go to be part of privately managed funds.
In addition to all of the above, we cannot ignore the existence of what is known as the dismantling of nuclear facilities. It is a process that consists of dismantling nuclear power plants, which means that, in addition to the traditional measures in a procedure in that case, special measures have to be carried out given the danger of the radioactive materials with which they operate. .