defenestration

plural defenestrations

1. countableuncountableThe act of throwing something or especially someone out of a window, especially lethally.First known use c. 17th c.

   The "Defenestration" at Prague (A.D. 1618). [...] The imperial Austrian Councillors are thrown out of the window of the castle of Hradschin by the enraged Bohemian Deputies [...]

   1905, Rossiter Johnson, editor, The Great Events by Famous Historians; a Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, […], volumes XI (A.D. 1609–1660), New York, N.Y.: National Alumni, →OCLC, pages 62–75

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   The brook in the gully behind the garden, a trembling trickle most of the time, was tonight a loud torrent that tumbled over itself in its avid truckling to gravity, as it carried through corridors of beech and spruce last years leaves, and some leafless twigs, and a brand-new, unwanted soccer ball that had recently rolled into the water from the sloping lawn after Pnin disposed of it by defenestration.

   1957 March 7, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 4.9, in Pnin, Heinemann, page 109

   The Third Defenestration of Prague occurred on 10 March 1948. During the closing stages of the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia, Jan Masaryk, the popular foreign minister and son of Tomáš Masaryk, fell – or more likely was pushed – out of a window.

   1996, Adrian [G. V.] Hyde-Price, “East Central Europe: A Brief History”, in The International Politics of East Central Europe, Manchester; New York, N.Y.: Manchester University Press, →ISBN, footnote 41, page 40

   On September 11, 2001 when NYC's Twin Towers were impacted [...] some occupants trapped above the inferno facing certain death instead jumped from windows to their certain death (self defenestration).

   2004, Paul Dehn Carleton, “Notes and References”, in Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-minded Skeptics of Catholic, and Other Christian, Jewish & Muslim Backgrounds, Pontiac, Mich.: Carleton House, →ISBN, footnote 15, page 359

2. UKcountableuncountableThe high-profile removal of a person from an organization.

   When the president announced Ms. Bondi’s departure from his cabinet on Thursday, he offered the customary false praise and cold comfort that accompany such defenestrations.

   2026 April 2, Jeffrey Toobin, “The One Thing Trump Wanted That Pam Bondi Failed to Deliver”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

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   Be that as it may, his defenestration was coldly abrupt, and in his place, the Football Association resurrected a veteran manager and former England star in Joe Mercer for seven games.

   2005 September 4, The Sunday Times, London

   With Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid gone from the cabinet, it could all be over for Boris Johnson – although quite how long it will take his enemies to finish him off is not at all clear and his defenestration does not look immediate.

   2022 July 5, Andrew Sparrow, “As Sunak and Javid quit cabinet, is it all over for Boris Johnson?”, in The Guardian

   1. UKcountablefigurativelyuncountableto eliminate from a contest or sport championship

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      Parrott had described Thursday’s defenestration of Cristiano Ronaldo’s team as the best night of his life, only for Sunday to be yet more gloriously dramatic. The former Tottenham trainee, who plays in the Dutch Eredivisie for AZ Alkmaar, would almost certainly not have started Ireland’s double-header had Roma’s Evan Ferguson not injured an ankle.

      2025 November 16, John Brewin, “Parrott hat-trick sickens Hungary as Ireland grab World Cup playoff spot in wild win”, in The Guardian

3. countablehumorousuncountablecomputingThe act of removing the Microsoft Windows operating system from a computer in order to install an alternative one.

   Defenestration might be an option too. May I recommend Linux?

   1998 November 1, “Dorian Bliss”, “He’s dead, Jim”, in rec.humor.oracle.d (Usenet), message-ID <363DA726.C27FA5F@spamfree.land>

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   It's defenestration day in Redmond today. A clearly stunned Microsoft did what it could to pretend that Judge Jackson's findings of fact were "just one step", as [Bill] Gates put said in the prepared statement that he read at a press conference last night, but it was hopeless.

   1999 November 6, Graham Lea, “Stunned MS vows to fight on for freedom: ‘Integrity, partnership, quality … giving’ – (takes out onion)”, in The Register, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2014

   No defenestration here. Ask questions about all aspects of Windows programming, get help on Microsoft technologies covered in Apress books, or provide feedback on any Apress Windows book.

   2002, John Kilburn, Palm Programming in Basic, Berkeley, Calif.: Apress, →ISBN, page 392

   What's needed is defenestration – throwing out the Windows mindset along with Microsoft's licenses and software – but that's not as simple as changing a boot CD or even migrating a whole raft of servers. What's involved is fundamental change both in how IT operates and in what it does.

   2004 February 12, Paul Murphy, “What does Linux cost?”, in LinuxInsider: Linux News & Information from around the World, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2016

   Traditionally, the verb defenestrate means to throw out of a window. But as Australian companies take their first timid steps towards installing non-proprietary software on corporate desktops, defenestration is starting to be linked to the throwing out of Windows software.

   2005 December 1, D. Braue, P. Gray, L. Colquhoun, J.-V. Douglas, “Leaders of the pack”, in MIS Asia: Managing Information Strategies, archived from the original on 07 Oct 2007