The English word apostasy emerges from the word Greek apostasía (ἀποστασία), meaning "to leave or depart." Apostasía (ἀποστασία), in turn, is made up of apo (ἀπο), meaning “away from,” and hístēmi (ἵστημι), meaning “to stand”; literally "to stand away from." Thus, apostasy is an individual's departure, desertion, or abandonment of religious or political beliefs.