The Disarming Charm's origins are a little unclear, but it reached widespread popularity after Elizabeth Smudgling, an accomplished dueller, used it in a duelling competition in Dartmoor in 1379 and won the event.

The spell would usually cause whatever item the target was holding (often a wand) to fly out of their hand. It could also disarm multiple targets if they were close to one another, and powerful casters could blast the target themselves backwards, or even unconscious.

The Charm became Harry Potter's signature spell in his encounters with Voldemort, and he used it in the final battle to defeat Voldemort by rebounding the Killing Curse.