1. To fail to give the proper or required care and attention to someone or something: Jackie was a very young mother and neglected her baby, so it was given to the care of a foster family.
2. To fail to do something, especially because of carelessness or forgetfulness: She wasn't used to tidying up the kitchen and completely neglected washing the dishes for a week!
3. Etymology: from Latin neglectus, past participle of neglegere, "to make light of, to disregard"; literally, "not to pick up"; variant of neclegere, from Old Latin nec, "not" + legere, "to pick up, to select".