Word families

a-, ab-, abs-

(Latin: prefix; from, away, away from)

This prefix is normally used with elements of Latin and French origins (abs- usually joins elements beginning with c, q, or t).

The form ab- is regularly used before all vowels and h; and it becomes a- before the consonants m, p, and v. The prefix apo- has similar meanings.

This list is a very small sample of the multitudes of a-, ab-, abs- prefixes that are available in dictionaries and those in this unit are only meant to present a few examples.

ab absurdo

From the absurd.

When a person argues ab absurdo, he or she is trying to establish the validity of her or his position by pointing out the ridiculousness (absurdity) or foolishness of the opponent's arguments.

Although an argument ab absurdo "demolish" an opponent's position in debate, it does not necessarily prove the validity of that person’s position. The only thing that may be accomplished is that the ab absurdo argument may make the other person seem to be foolish or illogical.

Ab abusu ad usum non valet consequentia.

The consequences of abuse do not apply to general use.

Used by legal specialists and suggests that a right should not be withheld from people because of others who abuse it.

Ab actu ad posse valet illatio.

Inference from what has happened to what will happen is valid.

ab aeterno

Since the beginning of time.

Literally, "from eternity" or of "no date of origin".

ab agendo

1. Out of action. 2. Obsolete or retired.

Ab alio expectes, alteri quod feceris.

Expect from others what you have done to them.

Prout vultis ut faciant vobis homines, et vos facite illis similiter, "As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner." From Luke 6:31 of the Latin Vulgate, a Latin version of the Bible produced by Saint Jerome in the 4th century.

From Latin vulgata editio, "an edition made public" or "an edition for ordinary people" which is a version used by the Roman Catholic Church.

ab ante

From before or in advance.

Example: making up one’s mind ab ante.

ab antiquo

From ancient times or from olden times.

Useful for those who are always looking back to the good old days.

ab asino lanam.

Literally, "wool from an ass [donkey]".

Its more modern meaning is "Trying to get blood from a stone or a turnip" or anyone who tries to achieve the impossible is bound to fail.

ab extra; ab ex.

From the outside; from without.

ab extrinseco

From the outside.

Ab hoc et ab hac et ab illa.

From this man, this woman, and that woman.

Also translated, "From here, there, and everywhere."

The talk of gossips; such and such a person did or said this or that.

It characterizes something heard or said in general gossip with no indication of its precise source.

Ab igne ignem.

From fire, fire.

Also translated as, "As you sow, so shall you reap."

This suggests that anyone should expect to get only what he or she puts into a project or effort.

ab imo pectore

From the bottom of the breast or chest.

The equivalent of "speaking from the heart" or "sincerely". It sounds peculiar until you realize that to the Romans the breast (pectus) was the seat both of reason and of the emotions. So to speak ab imo pectore means the same thing as to "speak from the bottom of one's heart".

ab inconvenienti

From the inconvenience.

A discomfort, difficulty, or annoyance.

Used in law to state that a position is untenable because of the hardship or inconvenience (difficulty) it would create.

ab incunabulis

From infancy.

This phrase may be translated as "cradle, swaddling clothes, infancy, or origin". Although ab incunabulis doesn't include a special reference to books, it still often refers to the earliest stage or beginning of something; but most often to books that date back to the period before A.D. 1500, when the use of movable type in printing was in its beginning stage.

ab initio; ab inti

From the beginning.

The Latin equivalent of "from the start" or "from inception".

ab integro

From the new.

Starting anew or over again; a fresh start.

ab intestato

From or by a person dying intestate, i.e., without a valid will.

A reference to someone who has died and left no will and testament.

ab intra

From within (oneself).

The role of an insider is played out ab intra or "from within" an organization.

ab irato

From an angry man.

Any action taken ab irato is to be understood as arising from anger rather than reason, and responses to such actions should be weighed carefully by reasonable people.

ab lib

A spontaneous remark improvised on the spur of the moment after being rehearsed in advance.

ab officio et beneficio

From official (duties) and benefits.

A suspension from a job and the remunerations or pay which come with it.

ab origine

From the first; from the origin.

This phrase may be translated as "from the very beginning, from the source, or from the origin"; from the beginning of something; from the creation of the world.

Ab origine fidelis.

Faithful from the first.

ab ovo

From the egg; from the very beginning.

A search ab ovo is a thorough analysis and a complete presentation.

ab ovo usque ad mala

From the egg to the apples.

A Roman phrase similar to English, "from soup to nuts"; but it means "from start to finish". This meaning is based on the fact that Roman dinners often started with eggs and ended with fruit.

From the beginning to the end of any enterprise; thoroughly, or without qualification.

ab uno ad omnes

From one to all.

Ab uno disce omnes.

From one, learn all.

"From one sample, judge or know all the rest." From Virgil's Aeneid. This maxim applies to situations in which the acceptance of a single observation is universally applicable. Such a careless application is considered a trap for faulty generalizaions. See et sic de similibus for similarities.

ab urbe condita; A.U.C.

A.U.C., from (since) the founding of the city (Rome), about 753 B.C.

The Romans used this date as the starting point for calculating an era. Ab urbe condita is also presented as Anno urbis conditae, "In the year of the founding of the city" which is also abbreviated A.U.C.

abampere (s); abamperes (pl) (nouns)

One abampere is equal to ten amperes in the SI system of units.

One abampere equals 10 amperes in the absolute meter-kilogram-second-ampere system.

abampere centimeter squared, aAcm²

The unit of magnetic moment in the electromagnetic centimeter-gram-second system.

abampere per square centimeter, aA/cm²

The unit of current density in the electromagnetic centimeter-gram-second system.

abarticular (adjective)

1. Not affecting a joint: "The skull bones are immovable and so they are considered to be abarticular joints because they do not not require tendons, ligaments, or synovial fluids for movements." 2. Remote or away from a joint: "There are abarticular sections of the body that are not connected with nor situated near the joints of the body."

abarticulation (s), abarticulations (pl); dearticulation (s), dearticulations (pl) (nouns)

In anatomy, the dislocation of a joint in the body: "Abarticulation is a medical term which is sometimes used as a reference to diarthrosis (ability of some joints of the body to move in several directions), and also for synarthrosis (rigid joint formed by the union of two bones and connected by fibrous tissue)."

abbreviate, abbreviates; abbreviated; abbreviating (verbs)

1. To shorten a word by leaving out some of its letters or sounds: "The speaker abbreviated his lecture so the audience could go home before the thunder storm arrived." 2. To shorten a piece of text by cutting out sections or paraphrasing it; that is, abridged, shortened, or cut short: "The -brev- in abbreviate, abbreviates, etc. came from Latin brevis, meaning "short", which is also the source of the word brief; therefore, abbreviate means "to make briefer, to make shorter" by combining or omitting elements of the contents of a verbal or a written message."

abbreviated (adjective)

1. That which has been cut short in duration or length: "Peter made an abbreviated speech after he lost the election." 2. The reduction of a word or a name to a shorter form: "The abbreviated form for the United States is U.S., for Doctor, it's Dr., and an abbreviated example of business is the informal term of biz."

abbreviation (s), abbreviations (pl) (nouns)

1. The result of reducing something; such as, a form or a short summary: "There are many abbreviations for title words; one common abbreviation is Mr. for Mister." 2. A shortened form of a spoken word, or written symbol; a part of a word or symbol standing for the whole: "A very familiar abbreviation is etc.; the abbreviation for et cetera; meaning, 'and the rest', 'and others', 'and so forth' which is used at the end of a list to indicate that 'other items of the same class or type should be considered or included'."

abbreviator (s), abbreviators (pl) (nouns)

Someone who shortens something that has been written by another person: "As editor, Kirk was a strict abbreviator and he supervised a team of abbreviators who worked on short stories for the magazine."

abcoulomb centimeter, aCcm

In the electromagnetic centimeter-gram-second system of units, the unit of electric dipole moment.

abcoulomb per cubic centimeter, aC/cm³

The electromagnetic centimeter-gram-second unit of volume density of charge.

abcoulomb per square centimeter, aC/cm²

The electromagnetic centimeter-gram-second unit of surface density of charge, electric polarization, and displacement.

abcoulomb, abC, aC (s), abcoulombs (pl) (nouns)

The unit of electric charge in the electromagnetic centimeter-gram-second system, where one abcoulomb is equal to 10 coulombs.

In the electromagnetic cgs system, electrical current is a fundamental quantity defined via Ampère's law and takes the permeability as a dimensionless quantity (relative permeability) whose value in a vacuum is unity. As a consequence, the square of the speed of light appears explicitly in some of the equations interrelating quantities in this system.

abdicable (adjective)

That which can be discarded, renounced, or relinquished: "Gina's abdicable responsibilities had been an excessive burden for her; so, she had no regrets when she abdicated her position as manager of the two stores."

abdicant (adjective)

A term describing someone who has forsaken or has deserted his or her responsibility: "Roger Smith's abdicant behavior regarding his duties did not go well with his fellow administrators."

abdicant (s), abdicants (pl) (nouns)

Anyone who abandons or renounces a position or responsibility: "The king became an abdicant when he gave up his throne so his son could take his place."

abdicate (AB duh kit) (adjective)

A descriptive term for a person who has given up a right, a trust, or an office; either voluntarily or under pressure: "The abdicate congressman resigned his position after his party urged him to leave when he finally admitted presenting himself inappropriately on an internet social-networking site."

abdicate (AB duh kayt"), abdicates; abdicated; abdicating (verbs)

1. To formally renounce, which is commonly done by a monarch of a throne; to vacate a throne, to relinquish, to abandon: "Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne so he could marry a commoner."

"A king who abdicates, renounces, or swears away his kingly privileges and duties."

2. To refuse to accept an obligation or responsibility: "When the author agreed to edit the book, she was abdicating her contract when she suddenly quit without notice." 3. To proclaim or declare to be no longer one's own, to disclaim, disown, cast off; especially, to disown or disinherit children: "Gary Brown abdicated his responsibilities as a husband and father and never returned to be with his wife and children." 4. To formally give up (a right, trust, office, or dignity); to renounce, to lay down, to surrender, to abandon; at first implying voluntary renunciation, but now including the idea of abandonment by default: "Governments, both national and local, seem to be abdicating their responsibilities to provide a good education to all of their citizens by greatly reducing the expenditures that are needed."

abdication (ab" duh KAY shuhn) (s), abdications (pl) (nouns)

1. To formally give up a high office, a throne, or an authority; resignation: "The council denied that their decision represented any abdication of responsibility." 2. The action of formally renouncing, disowning, or casting off. Now only applied to the disowning of a son in Roman Law: "In choosing the abdication of his son as his successor, the landlord broke the line of succession of ownership." 3. Resignation, surrender, renunciation (generally): "Following the abdication of Joy Little's position as judge left her with a sense of relief." 4. Resignation or abandonment, either formal or virtual, of sovereignty or other high trust: "The abdication of Gerald Room's position as Chief Executive Officer surprised everyone." 5. Formal renunciation or relinquishment of the ownership of goods by an insurer to the underwriters; abandonment: "The insurance company determined that the abdication of ownership of the ship was the only way to cut their losses when the ship was wrecked."

"It seemed like a long summer of abdications; first the prince's abdication of the throne to marry the woman he loved, then we had the CEO's abdication of his position as head of the company."

abdicator (s), abdicators (pl) (nouns)

1. Someone who gives up a high office, formally or officially; especially, a royal throne: "The duke, by giving up his title, was seen by many as an abdicator; but he was happy to retire to the country because since his younger brother also chose to abdicate his position, they were referred to as the 'Brother Abdicators'." 2. Anyone who fails to fulfill a duty or responsibility: "The manager of the store was an abdicator of his duties."

abduce, abduces; abduced; abducing (verbs)

1. To lead or to draw away by some act or a persuasion: "The Pied Piper was able to abduce the children to run away from home."

"The ditch abduces the flood water off the street."

"The children were abduced from the proximity of the barking dog by their teacher."

"By abducing the kitten to move from the ledge of the window with a bowl of milk, the woman saved the kitten's life."

2. To draw away or to move away from a median plane: "The doctor had to abduce the patient's right arm from its midplane to the side and back again."

abducens, abducent (s); abducentes (pl) (nouns)

Either of the sixth pair of cranial nerves that convey motor impulses to the rectus muscle on the lateral side of each eye: "The ophthalmologist had to correct the abducentes of Maureen because she had a paralysis of the nerves which resulted in diplopia or double vision."

abducent (adjective)

A reference to drawing away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent body part: "In anatomy, the abducent muscle; such as therectus lateralis muscle of the eye, moves the eyeball outwardly."

"Abducent muscles refer to moving a part of the body away from an adjacent part."

abducent (s), abducents (pl) (nouns)

A small motor nerve that supplies the lateral rectus muscle of the eye: "The adducent is the ocular muscle whose contraction turns the eyeball outward."

abduct, abducts; abducted; abducting (verbs)

1. To lead, take away, or carry off improperly, whether by force or fraud; to carry off, to kidnap: "Tamara Patrick and her child were abducted from their home."

"The hitchhiker tried to abduct Jim's backpack, which was lying next to the road, when Jim was taking a toilet break."

"Melinda Pearl was wondering what would happen if the man abducts the puppy without getting permission."

"The customer saw Douglas Johnsion abducting a package of grapes from the store."

2. To pull something; such as, a muscle, away from the midpoint or midline of the body or of a bodily limb: "When Jason fell, he abducted a muscle in his leg and so he had to limp to the bench so he could sit down."

abductee (s), abductees (pl) (nouns)

A person who has been taken away, or carried off improperly, whether by force or by fraud: "The newspaper presented the story about the abductee of a well-known kidnapping."

"Three of the abductees agreed to meet with the police in an effort to catch the guy who held them in captivity for several days before he was paid the ransom that he demanded."

abduction (s), abductions (pl) (nouns)

The process of having been carried or taken away; such as, a wife, a child, a ward, or a voter: "The abductions of minors under the age of sixteen, without the consent of their parents or guardians; as well as, the forcible carrying off of anyone over that age takes place in many parts of the world."

"The story of the Lindbergh baby abduction on March 1, 1932, was news all around the world when the child's absence was discovered and reported to his parents, who were at home, at approximately 10:00 p.m."

"Today there are many reports of abductions taking place in impoverished countries."

abductor (s), abductors (pl) (nouns)

1. Someone who illegally leads, or takes, another person away by force or deception: "The description of the abductor matched the profile in the police station." 2. A muscle that pulls the body or a limb away from a midpoint or midline; such as, raising the arm out from the side: "Eric strained both abductors in his right arm when he tried to throw the baseball."

aberrance (s), aberrances (pl) (nouns)

1. A state or condition significantly different from the normal: "The reality of the housing development was certainly an aberrance from what Sam had expected." 2. A wandering from what is considered to be the right way; a deviation from truth: "The confessions by the criminals that were made at the police station appeared to be aberrances when compared to the actual facts of the case."

aberrancy (s), aberrancies (pl) (nouns)

1. A condition that is significantly different from the normal; wandering; divergent, unusual: "Stealing is considered an aberrancy in terms of social expectations." 2. That which has departed or turned away from what is considered to be normal, right, or a usual course: "Dr. Carla was concerned about several aberrancies which she detected during the routine health examination of her patient."

aberrant (adjective)

1. A reference to someone who is deviating from what is considered to be proper or from an expected course of action: "Timothy's aberrant personality frequently got him into trouble with his employers."

"Driving on the wrong side of a road is considered an aberrant driving practice and will result in a traffic ticket or may even cause a serious accident."

2. Deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type; exceptional; abnormal: "In circuses of the last century, there often were displays of pitiful animals that were aberrant in some way, like having an extra toe, a double tail, or more than one head."

aberrate, aberrates; aberrated; aberrating (verbs)

1. To diverge or deviate from what is expected by someone or those who are supposed to be doing something: "Henry's severe headache was the result of his aberrating from his commitment to staying sober."

"Carl decided to aberrate from the usual route to the farm when he took a side road."

"Allison was aberrating her normal work schedule so she could attend a concert in the evening."

2. To produce something that is not considered to be normal or proper: "When Claudia aberrates from her usual piano-practice schedule, her musical performance is never be up to its normal standard."

"The chemist accidentally mixed up the wrong chemical formula and therefore aberrated a very bad odor in the laboratory."

aberration (s), aberrations (pl) (nouns)

1. A wandering or straying away; a departure or deviation from what is considered normal or from the socially recognized path: "The horror novel was considered an aberration as far as the tastes of the reading public were concerned."

"The new rules were confusing and full of aberrations."

2. A defect in a lens or mirror, causing a distorted image or one with colored edges: "The blurred photographs indicated that Ron's camera has a lens with an aberration."

"The flaw in a lens that doesn't focus properly is called a spherical aberration."

3. In astronomy, a small periodic change in the apparent position of a star or other astronomical object, caused by the motion of the earth around the sun: "The astronomer noticed an unusual aberration in the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere."

"In astronomy, an aberration is an apparent displacement in the position of a celestial object as a result of the time it takes for light from the object to reach an earthbound observer and to the orbital motion of the earth during that time."

4. A disorder or abnormal alteration in one's mental state: "Three authors got together to see how many aberrations they could include in the Worst Novel of the Year."

"The only aberration that Marcia's mother has is an occasional lapse of memory."

Abeunt studia in mores.

Studies change into habits.

A maxim by Ovid: "Pursuits done with constant and careful attention become habits."

abevacuation (s), abevacuations (pl) (nouns)

1. A partial evacuation or an abnormal evacuation (leaving a place), that is either excessive or deficient: "In the time of the flood crisis, the farmer may have been too slow in undertaking the abevacuation of his farm animals to higher ground."

"The fire fighters were experienced in managing abevacuations under critical circumstances."

2. Evacuations, or removals, through abnormal channels: "Some grave diggers performed abevacuations at night."

abfarad, aF (s), abfarads (pl) (nouns)

An abfarad is an electromagnetic unit of capacitance equal to 10⁹ farads (1,000,000,000 F or 1 GF): "This very large unit is usually limited to applications in medical terminology."

"When the scientist was studying in school, he had to memorize the abfarad capacitant units that had been formulated by Michael Faraday."

"A farad is a basic unit of capacitance in the meter-kilogram-second system; equivalent to the capacitance of a capacitor in which a charge of 1 coulomb produces a change of 1 volt in the potential difference between its terminals. Named for Michael Faraday."

abhenry, aH (s), abhenries (pl) (nouns)

Abhenry is a medical term referring to the centimeter-gram-second electromagnetic unit of inductance, equal to 10^-9 or one billionth of a henry (a standard unit of inductance in the meter-kilogram-second system), equivalent to that of an induced 1 volt in the presence of a current that is changing at a rate of 1 ampere per second: "When the scientists met, they exchanged notes about their theories of abhenry applications."

"The term, abhenry, was named for Joseph Henry (1797-1878), a U.S. scientist who discovered the electromagnetic phenomenon of self-inductance, and who also discovered mutual inductance, independently of Michael Faraday. His work on the electromagnetic relay was the basis of the electrical telegraph."

"Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was an English experimental scientist who was especially noted for his discoveries in electricity, including electromagnetic induction, the battery, the electric arc, and the dynamo."

"Faraday's work on induction formed the basis of modern electromagnetic technology, and his work on electrochemistry laid the basis for this other important modern industry."

"Faraday's law is a law of electromagnetic induction stating that the electromotive force induced in a circuit is proportional to the time rate of magnetic flux change linked with the circuit."

abhor, abhors; abhorred; abhorring (verbs)

1. To shrink away from in fear, disgust, or hatred; to detest, to hate: "The cat abhors the sound of fog horns because it hurts his ears." 2. To disapprove of or to reject something very strongly: "Kay's neighbor has always abhorred loud music because it causes him to have severe headaches."

"The family was abhorring the very thought of having to move again."

3. Etymology: from Latin abhorrere, "to shrink back from, to have an aversion for, to shudder at"; from ab-. "away" + horrere, "to tremble at, to shudder"; literally, "to bristle, to be shaggy".

abhorred (adjective)

Detested, hated: "Stephen refused to take part in the meeting with that abhorred guy."

"The abhorred smell from the open sewer was offensive and finally caused the local government to make some public health improvements."

abhorrence (s), abhorrences (pl) (nouns)

1. Someone or something that is strongly or intensely disapproved of: "Gertrude had an irrational abhorrence of snakes." 2. That which is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent: "The first mate on the ship had an abhorrence for the smell of the water in the bilge." 3. A feeling of repugnance or loathing about someone or something: "The biologist's multiple abhorrences for reptiles and spiders will make it difficult for him to do much research when he goes to Africa next month."

abhorrent (adjective)

1. Anything that arouses strong feelings of repugnance or disapproval about people, situations, or things: "Even thinking about failing was an abhorrent idea for Scott to consider."

"Ronald's sister had an abhorrent dislike of insects and other 'creepy things' which helped to determine the direction of her scientific studies."

2. That which is incompatible with or conflicting with something: "The abhorrent violence at the start of the film was so disgusting and loathsome that the couple got up and walked out."

abhorrently (adverb)

A description of intense disapproval or dislike of something: "There was something abhorrently unacceptable and vulgar about Elsie's behavior at the party last night."

"The supervisor's abhorrently despicable behavior after work was in contrast to Donald's mild demeanor while he was working, which made his fellow workers think of him as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character."

abhorrer (s), abhorrers (pl) (nouns)

Someone who regards others, or certain things, with extreme repugnance: "The prison guard was an abhorrer of those who attempted to escape."

"Mark was an abhorrer of all things violent and harmful."

"The two clergymen were abhorrers of the extreme poverty in which many of their congregational members lived."

abirritant, more abirritant, most abirritant (adjectives)

1. A soothing medication that diminishes irritation.: "The doctor prescribed an abirritant cream for the rash on Tamara’s arm." 2. Relieving or lessening irritation; soothing: "When Larry went home, he applied some abirritant which helped to sooth the itching on his back."

"After Dennis had finished his shower, he applied some more abbirritant to the itchy places on his feet."

"Using the ointment provided the most abirritant sensational effects for Joe's sore foot."

abirritate, abirritates; abirritated; abirritating (verbs)

1. To diminish the sensibility of; to debilitate: "Ken played soft music to abirritate his baby who was upset by the constant sound of the dog's barking."

"Rocking baby Lillie abirritates her distress and helps her to sleep better."

2. To make less irritable; to soothe: "The new ointment really abirritated the dryness of Jackie's hands very quickly."

"It is abirritating and relaxing to go for long walks in the woods and to listen to the birds."

abirritation (s), abirritations (pl) (nouns)

1. Diminution or abolition of irritability in a body part: "A good meal and pleasant background music are abirritations that really sooth Ida's irritations and bad temper." 2. A lack or loss of strength and energy; weakness: "Being ill for several weeks brought about a general abirritation in Frank's sister that made her listless and sad."

abject (adjective)

1. Of the most contemptible kind, despicable: "The soldier deserted like an abject coward."

"Walter's aunt was in an abject mood brought on by the secret knowledge that her hero was in fact an abject coward with feet of clay."

2. Of the most miserable kind, wretched: "Since the flood, Kristin's friends have been living in an abject situation as they try to clean up the mud in their house, get rid of and replace furniture that can no longer be used, and fix other damages done to their house." 3. Etymology: from Latin ab-, "away" + Latin jacere, "to cast, to throw"; literally, "throwing away" or "thrown away".

abjection (s), abjections (pl) (nouns)

1. A low or downcast state, the act of being humiliating: "The abjection of poverty made it difficult for Eileen to raise her children and send them to school." 2. A condition of being servile, wretched, or contemptible: "In school, the students studied the various abjections of human situations and learned strategies that would help them to avoid miserable lives in the future."

abjectly (adverb)

1. With great shame, desperately: "Too many people in the world remain abjectly poor."

"Jeffrey sighed and abjectly walked away after being exposed as a swindler."

2. In a hopeless resigned manner: "Joshua abjectly shrugged his shoulders when his wife started another session of complaining."

abjectness (s) (noun)

1. A condition in which a person is down in spirit or hope; and miserable: "Jack's abjectness was caused by the fact that he had been walking all day at the book fair and his feet were hurting. 2. Submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior: "Terri's abjectness revealed that she was so servile and overly willing to serve or to obey other people that no one respected her."

abjuration (s), adjurations (pl) (nouns)

1. The solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath; often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege: "The abjuration of Vera's citizenship where she was born made it possible for her to become a citizen in a new country." 2. Denials, disavowals, or renunciations under oath; "In common ecclesiastical language abjuration is restricted to the renunciation of heresy made by the penitent heretic on the occasion of his reconciliation with the Catholic Church."

"The many adjurations of the alleged witch convinced the clergy that she was sincere and penitent."

abjure (ab JOOR), abjures; abjured; abjuring (verbs)

1. To renounce, reject, or give up rights or allegiance on oath: "Kevin said he would abjure his citizenship if his country continued with its policies of war instead of negotiating peaceful solutions to international problems." 2. To repudiate, renounce or recant publicly; to disclaim: "Douglas abjured his life of bad eating and drinking habits when he determined to abjure eating so much fried foods."

"After abjuring the gossip that had been spread in an article in the local newspaper, the foolish neighbor felt better."

3. To give up (rights, allegiance, etc.) on oath; to renounce; to give up (opinions) publicly; to recant: "The school principal will be sure that the student abjures her false story before returning to school."

"Because Samuel had been away from his church for a long time, as a poet he abjured his past religious criticisms and was welcomed back among his friends."

abjurer (s), abjurers (pl) (nouns)

1. Someone who formally rejects or disavows a formerly held belief, usually under pressure: "Joan became an abjurer when she was forced by her husband to give up her religious beliefs." 2. Anyone who implies a firm and final rejecting or abandoning of a former belief or position, often made under oath: "The two abjurers, Steven and Edward, met with the media to explain their joint decision to abandon their previously held political commitments."

ablactation (s), ablactations (pl) (nouns)

The weaning of a child from nursing or the cessation of milk secretion: "There was an ablactation or substitution of other food for the mother's milk in the diet of her baby."

"The nurse provided an educational booklet to the new mothers about the ablactation of infants."

"There are many ablactations available to provide appropriate nourishment for human infants and other young of mammals."

ablate, ablates; ablated; ablating (verbs)

1. To remove or dissipate by melting, vaporization, erosion, etc.: "The worker was ablating the metal surface with intense heat." 2. In medicine, to excise, to amputate, or otherwise to destroy a biological function; for example, of a body tissue by cutting, with a laser, or by means of electrocautery: "The doctor ablated the abnormal number of warts that had formed on Colleen's body with electrocautery (burning with electric heat)."

"The doctor indicated that she would ablate the lump from Tanya's leg."

"After a heavy rain, the top soil ablates from the field and runs off into the stream."

"After Patrick's crushed foot was ablated in the accident, as a runner he learned to run with a prosthetic foot and shoe."

"It would appear that the ice bergs are ablating faster than scientists had anticipated."

ablation (s), ablations (pl) (nouns)

1. Surgical excisions, removals, or amputations of body parts or tissues: "The doctor specialized in the ablation of tumors on the lungs." 2. The erosive processes by which a glacier is reduced; wearing or wasting away: "Melting and the breaking off of a mass of ice from its parent glacier, iceberg, or ice shelf are ablations that ice bergs undergo during the summer months." 3. In aerospace, the dissipation of heat generated by atmospheric friction: "There are ablations in atmospheric re-entries of spacecrafts or missiles with the use of melting heat shields."

ablative (adjective)

1. A reference to taking away or removing: "The city trash was consumed in a furnace which was fired at ablative temperatures that would consume the trash and leave a fine ash." 2. Tending to be removed or vaporized at very high temperatures: "The ablative material on a rocket cone fell off." 3. In grammar, applied to one of the cases of the noun in Latin and some other Indo-European languages: "The ablative case is the removal, separation, or taking away; that is, indicating direction away from, or time when."

"In some inflected languages, the ablative case has among its functions the indications of a place from which or, as in Latin, a place in which, a manner, a means, an instrument, or agent."

ablative case (s), ablative cases (pl) (nouns)

A grammatical case used in some languages to indicate movement away from something, removal of, separation from, or source of: "The ablative case corresponds roughly to the English prepositions 'from', 'away from', and 'concerning'."

"Raymond's sister had to memorize lists of ablative cases when she was studying a foreign language at school."

"All of the ablative cases which the author used made the story interesting but a bit convoluted."

ablator (s), ablators (pl) (nouns)

1. The heat shields of space vehicles, which melt or wear away during the re-entry into the earth's atmosphere: "The scientisst created a new ablator which could withstand extreme heat." 2. The outer surface of a spacecraft or missile: "Ablation is the erosion of the protective outer surface, or ablator, of a spacecraft or missile resulting from aerodynamic heating caused by travel at hypersonic speeds during re-entry through the atmosphere."

"The ablators on the spacecraft were welded into place using a specialized metal that would withstand great heat."

ablaut (s), ablauts (pl) (nouns)

The change of one root vowel into another one to show a variation of tense, part of speech, or meaning: "The following ablauts show how certain verbs change their tenses: swim, swam, swum; sing, sang, sung; drink, drank, drunk; sink, sank, sunk; and many other irregular verbs."

"The students were asked to find the single example of an ablaut in the poem that they memorized."

"The grammar teacher wrote several examples of ablauts on the chalkboard for the students to study."

abirritation (s), abirritations (pl) (nouns)

1. Diminution or abolition of irritability in a body part: "A good meal and pleasant background music are abirritations that really sooth Ida's irritations and bad temper." 2. A lack or loss of strength and energy; weakness: "Being ill for several weeks brought about a general abirritation in Frank's sister that made her listless and sad."

abject (adjective)

1. Of the most contemptible kind, despicable: "The soldier deserted like an abject coward."

"Walter's aunt was in an abject mood brought on by the secret knowledge that her hero was in fact an abject coward with feet of clay."

2. Of the most miserable kind, wretched: "Since the flood, Kristin's friends have been living in an abject situation as they try to clean up the mud in their house, get rid of and replace furniture that can no longer be used, and fix other damages done to their house." 3. Etymology: from Latin ab-, "away" + Latin jacere, "to cast, to throw"; literally, "throwing away" or "thrown away".

abjection (s), abjections (pl) (nouns)

1. A low or downcast state, the act of being humiliating: "The abjection of poverty made it difficult for Eileen to raise her children and send them to school." 2. A condition of being servile, wretched, or contemptible: "In school, the students studied the various abjections of human situations and learned strategies that would help them to avoid miserable lives in the future."

abjectly (adverb)

1. With great shame, desperately: "Too many people in the world remain abjectly poor."

"Jeffrey sighed and abjectly walked away after being exposed as a swindler."

2. In a hopeless resigned manner: "Joshua abjectly shrugged his shoulders when his wife started another session of complaining."

abjectness (s) (noun)

1. A condition in which a person is down in spirit or hope; and miserable: "Jack's abjectness was caused by the fact that he had been walking all day at the book fair and his feet were hurting. 2. Submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior: "Terri's abjectness revealed that she was so servile and overly willing to serve or to obey other people that no one respected her."

abjuration (s), adjurations (pl) (nouns)

1. The solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath; often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege: "The abjuration of Vera's citizenship where she was born made it possible for her to become a citizen in a new country." 2. Denials, disavowals, or renunciations under oath; "In common ecclesiastical language abjuration is restricted to the renunciation of heresy made by the penitent heretic on the occasion of his reconciliation with the Catholic Church."

"The many adjurations of the alleged witch convinced the clergy that she was sincere and penitent."

abjure (ab JOOR), abjures; abjured; abjuring (verbs)

1. To renounce, reject, or give up rights or allegiance on oath: "Kevin said he would abjure his citizenship if his country continued with its policies of war instead of negotiating peaceful solutions to international problems." 2. To repudiate, renounce or recant publicly; to disclaim: "Douglas abjured his life of bad eating and drinking habits when he determined to abjure eating so much fried foods."

"After abjuring the gossip that had been spread in an article in the local newspaper, the foolish neighbor felt better."

3. To give up (rights, allegiance, etc.) on oath; to renounce; to give up (opinions) publicly; to recant: "The school principal will be sure that the student abjures her false story before returning to school."

"Because Samuel had been away from his church for a long time, as a poet he abjured his past religious criticisms and was welcomed back among his friends."

abjurer (s), abjurers (pl) (nouns)

1. Someone who formally rejects or disavows a formerly held belief, usually under pressure: "Joan became an abjurer when she was forced by her husband to give up her religious beliefs." 2. Anyone who implies a firm and final rejecting or abandoning of a former belief or position, often made under oath: "The two abjurers, Steven and Edward, met with the media to explain their joint decision to abandon their previously held political commitments."

ablactation (s), ablactations (pl) (nouns)

The weaning of a child from nursing or the cessation of milk secretion: "There was an ablactation or substitution of other food for the mother's milk in the diet of her baby."

"The nurse provided an educational booklet to the new mothers about the ablactation of infants."

"There are many ablactations available to provide appropriate nourishment for human infants and other young of mammals."

ablate, ablates; ablated; ablating (verbs)

1. To remove or dissipate by melting, vaporization, erosion, etc.: "The worker was ablating the metal surface with intense heat." 2. In medicine, to excise, to amputate, or otherwise to destroy a biological function; for example, of a body tissue by cutting, with a laser, or by means of electrocautery: "The doctor ablated the abnormal number of warts that had formed on Colleen's body with electrocautery (burning with electric heat)."

"The doctor indicated that she would ablate the lump from Tanya's leg."

"After a heavy rain, the top soil ablates from the field and runs off into the stream."

"After Patrick's crushed foot was ablated in the accident, as a runner he learned to run with a prosthetic foot and shoe."

"It would appear that the ice bergs are ablating faster than scientists had anticipated."

ablation (s), ablations (pl) (nouns)

1. Surgical excisions, removals, or amputations of body parts or tissues: "The doctor specialized in the ablation of tumors on the lungs." 2. The erosive processes by which a glacier is reduced; wearing or wasting away: "Melting and the breaking off of a mass of ice from its parent glacier, iceberg, or ice shelf are ablations that ice bergs undergo during the summer months." 3. In aerospace, the dissipation of heat generated by atmospheric friction: "There are ablations in atmospheric re-entries of spacecrafts or missiles with the use of melting heat shields."

ablative (adjective)

1. A reference to taking away or removing: "The city trash was consumed in a furnace which was fired at ablative temperatures that would consume the trash and leave a fine ash." 2. Tending to be removed or vaporized at very high temperatures: "The ablative material on a rocket cone fell off." 3. In grammar, applied to one of the cases of the noun in Latin and some other Indo-European languages: "The ablative case is the removal, separation, or taking away; that is, indicating direction away from, or time when."

"In some inflected languages, the ablative case has among its functions the indications of a place from which or, as in Latin, a place in which, a manner, a means, an instrument, or agent."

ablative case (s), ablative cases (pl) (nouns)

A grammatical case used in some languages to indicate movement away from something, removal of, separation from, or source of: "The ablative case corresponds roughly to the English prepositions 'from', 'away from', and 'concerning'."

"Raymond's sister had to memorize lists of ablative cases when she was studying a foreign language at school."

"All of the ablative cases which the author used made the story interesting but a bit convoluted."

ablator (s), ablators (pl) (nouns)

1. The heat shields of space vehicles, which melt or wear away during the re-entry into the earth's atmosphere: "The scientisst created a new ablator which could withstand extreme heat." 2. The outer surface of a spacecraft or missile: "Ablation is the erosion of the protective outer surface, or ablator, of a spacecraft or missile resulting from aerodynamic heating caused by travel at hypersonic speeds during re-entry through the atmosphere."

"The ablators on the spacecraft were welded into place using a specialized metal that would withstand great heat."

ablaut (s), ablauts (pl) (nouns)

The change of one root vowel into another one to show a variation of tense, part of speech, or meaning: "The following ablauts show how certain verbs change their tenses: swim, swam, swum; sing, sang, sung; drink, drank, drunk; sink, sank, sunk; and many other irregular verbs."

"The students were asked to find the single example of an ablaut in the poem that they memorized."

"The grammar teacher wrote several examples of ablauts on the chalkboard for the students to study."

abluent (adjective)

Serving to cleanse: "Anthony used an abluent detergent to wash away the dirt on his car after the severe dust storm."

"The abluent effects of vinegar are said to be of great value."

abluent (s), abluents (pl) (nouns)

A cleansing agent; a detergent: "Vanessa uses vinegar as an abluent when she is cleaning the sink in the bathroom."

"There are several different abluents available in supermarkets."

ablution (s), ablutions (pl) (nouns)

1. A washing or cleansing; such as, a religious ceremony of purification; a ceremonial washing, or the ritualistic freeing of a person or people from sin or guilt: "The priest performed ceremonies of ablutions for his followers."

"In some religions, an ablution may be a prescribed washing of part or all of the body or of possessions; such as, clothing or ceremonial objects, with the intent of purification or dedication."

2. The liquid used in a washing which may refer to the practice of removing sins, diseases, or earthly defilements through the use of ritual washings: "Before saying his prayers, Gregory performed the required ablutions that represented the spiritual cleansing of his sins."

"Like most ritual acts, ablution may carry a wide range of meanings to those who perform it; for example, the act of cleansing may be only a gesture that is symbolic of a desired purity of the soul."

3. A washing of a person's body or body parts; a bathing, a cleaning: "Because of the heat, Charlene felt the need for a refreshing ablution."

"After consecutive ablutions at the sink, Pearl was finally able to wash the smell of garlic off her hands."

"Gertrude's husband performed an ablution of his feet every night before going to bed."

ablutionary (adjective)

1. Of or pertaining to washing the body, or parts of it: "Such muggy weather required more ablutionary showers than usual." 2. A reference to a religious cleansing of the body by washing; especially, a ritual washing of the hands, etc.: "Robert used a large cloth to complete his ablutionary ceremony or routine before going to bed each night."

ablutomania (s), ablutomanias (pl) (nouns)

1. An obsessional preoccupation with cleanliness, washing, or bathing, often accompanied by compulsive rituals: "The doctor noticed that James had several ablutionmanias which included obsessive or an excessive washing of his hands as well as washing his feet in a ritualistic manner several times each day." 2. A mental illness in which patients are driven to repeat the same act; such as, washing their hands, over and over again, usually for many hours: "Some compulsive disorders, as indicated in ablutomanias, are often considered to be obsessive-compulsive psychoneuroses."

"Some ablutomanias are enormously time-consuming. A woman named Beth felt compelled to wash her hands in a certain way after touching unclean objects; namely, from fingers to wrist, from wrist to elbow, and from elbow to upper arm, and then to repeat the performance until her anxiety was over, which could be several times. As a result, Beth's hands often became painfully raw."

"Arthur had ablutomanias that involved washing in a certain ritualistic order whenever he had a bath or cleaned objects. He said, 'When I wash clothes or clean anything—floor, carpet, windows, and so on—I have to clean them in a specific way to make sure I do not miss anything. I can never hurry because I would not feel that it has been done properly.' "

ablutophobe (s), ablutophobes (pl) (nouns)

Someone who suffers from an obsessive dread or hatred of washing or bathing: "After Dr. Delores Joy had studied several ablutophobes and their constant refusals to wash, she wrote for a scientific journal describing their mental illnesses."

ablutophobia (s), ablutophobias (pl) (nouns)

1. An obsessional fear of bathing: "Activities based on ablutophobia may include avoidance by long periods without washing, an abnormal anxiety when even considering washing or when they are actually trying to wash, and even their excessive dread when they see other people who are washing." 2. Those people who fear water or are afraid of being seen in the nude: "Some people who have ablutophobias are overly anxious that their bodies will be criticized or compared with those of others; while some other ablutophobiacs simply have an abnormal fear of being in warm or cold water."

"The ablutophobias which the patient suffered included being terribly afraid of going near swimming pools."

ablutophobic (s), ablutophobics (pl) (nouns)

Someone who has the persistent or abnormal fear of bathing or washing: "The ablutophobic struggled and yelled at the hospital staff when they tried to give him a bath before the operation."

"David's dorm mate was an ablutophobic which made living in the same room with him too difficult; so, David made arrangements to move in with a non-ablutophobic person."

"The psychiatry department at the hospital started a group program for ablutophobics in hopes of generating a better solution for their psychological conditions."

abluvion (s), abluvions (pl) (nouns)

A substance, or things, that are washed away: "The flood resulted in many abluvions being destroyed and floating down the river."

"The recent abluvion that was swept away by the flood included a picnic table."

"All of the abluvions which had collected under the bridge were cleared away by the underwater divers."

abmortal (adjective)

Located or directed away from dead, dying, or injured tissue: "The abmortal electric currents were generated by the injured muscles in his leg."

"The corrective surgery performed an abmortal relocation of the damaged nerves on the foot of the long distance runner."

abnegate, abnegates; abnegated; abnegating (verbs)

1. To give up or to surrender: "The King abnegated his throne to his son." 2. To deny something to oneself; to restrain; especially, from indulging in some pleasure: "The minister of the church abnegated the material luxuries of life."

"When Agnes Marcia became a nun after the death of her son and husband in an auto accident, she was abnegating a life of comfort and ease in order to dedicate her life to God."

"Indulging in an ice cream sundae abnegates the healthful effects of having a salad for lunch."

"Because Lucy wanted to lose weight, she is abnegating the eating of chocolate for an entire month."

abnegation (s), abnegations (pl) (nouns)

The renunciation of a person's own interests in favor of the interests of others: "Some religions have fast days and so abnegation involves the giving up all food or anything a person likes to eat in order to follow the rules and requirements of his or her beliefs."

"The Vice Principal's abnegation of her position to allow for the promotion of a younger person was admired by all."

"The Board of Directors was faced with a couple of uncertainties regarding the abnegations of the entire staff at the shelter for women."

abnormal (adjective)

1. Not normal, average, or typical; irregular, deviant: "Richard had abnormal powers of concentration despite the distractions that were going on around him." 2. Unusual or unexpected; especially, in a way that causes alarm or anxiety: "The abnormal extremes in weather conditions are causing officials to declare mandatory evacuations which is resulting in a great deal of stress for residents in certain areas of the world." 3. Much greater than the normal or the usual: "Abnormal profits might be blamed for the financial crisis that exists these days." 4. Departing from the normal or what is usually expected; for example, in intelligence and physical development: "The parents were very distressed when they found out that their daughter was considered to be intellectually abnormal in school."

"The abnormal circumstances surrounding their young daughter's decision to travel caused a great deal of concern among her relatives."

"The neighbor's cat has an abnormal fear of birds."

5. Etymology: This word was once spelled anormal and it came from the Greek anomalos, meaning irregular. Later the b was added by analogy with the Latin word for irregular, abnormis. based on Latin ab-, "from" + norma, "norm"; and so, "away from the norm".

Abnormal can mean either below normal or above normal; so, either better or worse than normal: "Einstein had an abnormal IQ while an ignorant person also has an abnormal IQ." On the other hand, subnormal always means below or worse than normal.

abnormality (s), abnormalities (pl) (nouns)

1. The state or condition of not being typical or usual; an irregularity: "Charles had a slight abnormality on his foot which the doctor was treating."

"A clubfoot is an abnormality that can often be surgically corrected."

3. A retardation that is sufficient to fall outside the acceptable range of intelligence: "The school is providing special classes for students with abnormalities who need special educational approaches."

abnormity (s), abnormities (pl) (nouns)

1. A departure from what is considered to be the ordinary type: "The story, 'The Elephant Man', recounts the life of a person with a severe abnormity. 2. An irregularity or monstrosity: "The veterinarian recognized the abnormity of the birth of the calf when he saw that it had two heads."

"Many years ago, travelling circuses often featured people and animals with abnormities which attracted the audiences into the special exhibitions."

abohm, aΩ (s), abohms (pl) (nouns)

The centimeter-gram-second unit of electrical resistance equal to 10^-9 of an ohm in the meter-kilogram-second system: "The scientist needed to understand the concept of the abohm."

"The equipment used in the university laboratory could accurately measure the abohms."

abolish, abolishes; abolished; abolishing (verbs)

1. To do away with completely; to completely destroy: "The school decided to abolish the required physical activity program."

"Ralph was abolishing all the mathematical equations from the chalk board when he wiped it clean."

2. To do away with wholly; to annul; to make void; said of laws, customs, institutions, governments, etc.; such as, to abolish slavery, to abolish illegal drugs: "The edict from the mayor's office abolishes the requirement to license pets." 3. To put an end to, or to destroy; such as, physical objects; to wipe out: "In his famous speech, the president abolished the use of freaks and individuals with abnormalities in circuses and carnivals." 4. Etymology: borrowed from Middle French aboliss-, stem of abolir, "to abolish, to do away with"; a borrowing from Latin abolescere, "to die out" from ab- "off" + -olescere, and is said by some etymological sources to be related to adolescere, "to grow up".

abolishable (adjective)

That which can be done away with wholly or made void; such as, the end a law, a system, a custom, or an institution: "Congress determined that the abolishable law should be terminated now."

"The antiquated system of managing public transportation is an abolishable system so it should be replaced."

abolisher (s), abolishers (pl) (nouns)

Someone who annuls, exterminates, or destroys something: "The advancing army could be considered an abolisher of the countryside."

"The mayor and his deputies were considered abolishers of good community assets; such as, the library."

abolishment (s), abolishments (pl) (nouns)

1. That which has been annulled, done away with , or destroyed: "With the abolishment of the school rule about wearing nail polish, the girls were much happier." 2. Anything that has come to an end or stopped: "When Vicki was reading the newspaper, she read the column listing all the abolishments which had been carried out by the city council."

abolition (s), abolitions (pl) (nouns)

1. The act of officially ending a law, a regulation, or a practice: "The petition by the people resulted in the abolition of the unfair taxes."

"The senator fought for the abolition of the current income tax law."

2. The process of doing away with or the state of being done away with; such as, an annulment: "The students sought further abolitions of unfair practices at the university."

abolitionism (s), abolitionisms (pl) (nouns)

1. A belief or system of beliefs that are accepted as authoritative by some group or school of thought: "Abolitionism was one of the driving elements behind the Civil War in the United States." 2. A social movement aimed at liquidating or getting rid of some law or an undesirable practice: "Women lead the abolitionism against the production of liquor and the operation of taverns and bars."

"Abolitionisms; such as, indentured workers or slave-working conditions are often opposed with vigor."

abolitionist (s), abolitionists (pl) (nouns)

1. Someone who supports getting rid of something; such as, a system, a practice, or an institution: "Stanley was considered an abolitionist who was leading the students' cause to eliminate unfair grading systems." 2. People who want to destroy a law or practice of some kind; such as, those who fight to end the death penalty: "The abolitionists against the cruel treatment of animals included several groups across the entire country."

abominable (adjective)

1. Loathsome, extremely repugnant, or offensive: "Murder is certainly the most abominable crime in existence."

"Nathan had the abominable habit of chewing his fingernails in public."

2. Extremely unpleasant or of very bad quality, or very unpleasant to experience: "The abominable food that was served in that restaurant tasted terrible and you can be sure that we will never go there again." 3. A bad omen; nasty and disgusting; vile; loathsome: "The flood included abominable sewerage that was flowing into the basements and ground-floor rooms of the houses."

Word History

Between the 14th and the 17th centuries, abominable was often spelled abhominable, because of a widely held belief that it was derived from Latin ab hominem; literally, "away from humankind", therefore "unnatural, beastly". Shakespeare puns on this sense when Hamlet speaks of incompetent actors who "imitate humanity abominably."

—Compiled from information located in the Encarta World English Dictionary; St. Martins Press; New York; 1999; page 4.

abominate, abominates; abominated; abominating (verbs)

1. To dislike, to find repugnant, and to intensely disapprove of someone or something: "Georgia abominates the smell of strong perfume in a small room."

"Allen has always abominated loud music and could not be tempted to attend a rock concert in the local park."

2. To detest thoroughly; to abhor: "There is nothing that abominates Nellie more than the thought of eating raw meat."

"The crowd will be abominating the imposition of an early curfew by the local authorities."

Word History

For the ancient Romans, an omen was a sign from the gods or a promise of good or a warning of evil.

Naturally, they turned away in fear from an evil omen. To express this aversion, they combined ab, "away" plus omen, "a foreboding", into the verb abominari, meaning "to deprecate as ominous", "to abhor"; with a past participle abominatus, the source of English abominate. The word has largely lost its original connotation of dread and has come to mean "to loathe", "to despise".

—Compiled from information located in the Picturesque Word Origins; G. & C. Merriam Company; Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A; 1933; page 5.

abomination (s), abominations (pl) (nouns)

An action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or extreme hatred: "The dirty streets of this city are an abomination!"

"Stacey's grandfather still has a strong feeling of abomination for the concentration camps that existed in Germany during the Second World War."

abominator (s), abominators (pl) (nouns)

1. Someone who intensely hates or loathes: "The protest march against the building of a new prison was lead by a well known abominator." 2. People who thoroughly detest or abhor other people, things, systems, etc.: "An experienced team of abominators meet every month to plan protests and rallies against the laws protecting civic inequality."

aboral, aborad (adjective)

Opposite to, away from, or distantly remote from the mouth: "Dale held his fork in an aboral position waiting for the food on it to cool enough to put into his mouth."

aboriginal (adjective)

1. Referring to or pertaining to the native races or people: "There are several aboriginal nations known as Indians in the United States." 2. Descriptive of native, indigenous people of a country: "Some of the aboriginal people of Canada are known as Inuits and Métis."

"Mike's sister was enrolled in the Aboriginal Studies program at the local university."

aboriginally (adverb)

A descriptive term referring to original inhabitants: "The native people were aboriginally located in the central area."

"There are anthropologists who say that Native Americans were aboriginally from Asia."

aboriginary (adjective)

1. Describing or relating to where the earliest known inhabitants lived: "The aboriginary location of the native people has been established." 2. A reference to where indigenous or original fauna or flora existed or may continue to survive in a geographical area: "The animals in these aboriginary areas no longer exist."

"The local zoo had an aboriginary section in which the native plants of the region were growing."

aborigine (s) aborigines (pl) (nouns)

1. Natives; any of the first or earliest known inhabitants of a region: "The aborigines of the region lived in the desert." 2. A member of the indigenous or earliest known population of a region; a native: "The New Zesland aborigines still hunt with spears." 3. The native flora (plants) and fauna (animals) of a geographic area: "Many of the aborigine plants of the region have medicinal properties." 4. Etymology: ab-, "from" + origine, "beginning, original" coming from the Aborigines, an Italian tribe from Latium whom the Latins were said to be descended; hence, original inhabitants of a country.

abort (uh BORT), aborts; aborted; aborting (verbs)

1. To give birth before the fetus is viable; to have a miscarriage; or a reference to something that fails to be completed: "It was very sad that the baby was aborted when the mother fell down the stairs."

"The family will be aborting their trip to the arctic because of the early onslaught of winter."

2. To cut short because of some failure in equipment: "The pilot aborted the flight because of radio failure."

"Failure of the radar system will abort the flight of the spaceship until another day."

3. Etymology: originally, "to set" or "to disappear" (as the sun). Composed of ab-, "from" and oriri- "to arise"; the part of the sky, or the world, in which the sun rises; the East.

aborticidal (adjective)

A reference to the killing of a fetus: "The aborticidal operation was performed because the mother could not survive the pregnancy any more."

"The veterinarian agreed with the farmer, an aborticidal operation on the sow would be the only way to save her life."

aborticide (s), aborticides (pl) (nouns)

1. The killing of a fetus during an abortion or the act of destroying a fetus in the womb; feticide: "The parents were distressed because of the natural, spontaneous aborticide that had happened."

2. A drug or other chemical agent that causes the destruction of a fetus: "New research has resulted in the production of aborticides that the doctors can safely use."

abortifacient (s), abortifacients (pl) (nouns)

A drug or a device that causes an abortion or kills the fetus before birth: "The new abortifacient which the doctor used was recommended by the specialist."

"Several experimental abortifacients are being tested by the research laboratory."

abortion (s), abortions (pl) (nouns)

1. Expulsion of a fetus from the womb before it is viable; however, medical personnel will also use this term for a miscarriage, which is involuntary: "Vivian had to go to the hospital because of an unexpected spontaneous abortion of her fetus.". 2. Induced termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent survival: "The doctor had to induce an abortion because the health and safety of the mother was at risk." 3. Anything that fails to develop, progress, or mature; such as, a design, project, or a badly developed plan, etc.: "The abortion of the plans to build the new civic center was regretted by just about everyone in the community."

"The attempt to redesign the airplane was an abortion or failure."

4. To miscarry, to disappear: "The inclement weather helped Norman to determine that the abortion of their hiking plans was the only safe thing to do." 5. Etymology: ab-, "from, away from" + oriri, "to come into being, to rise, to be born".

abortional (adjective)

Referring to or pertaining to an abortion which is the cessation (discontinuation) of a pregnancy or a fetal development; miscarrying: "The doctor was correct to use abortional terminology when discussing the Heidi's condition."

"The veterinarian ordered some new abortional medication to be used in her clinic."

abortionism (s) (noun)

The support or advocacy for termination of a pregnancy: "Tonya's sister, who is a doctor, supports abortionism once the client has had a medical examination and counseling."

abortionist (s), abortionists (pl) (nouns)

1. Anyone who believes and promotes the ending of a pregnancy: "The speaker was a well known abortionist." 2. Someone who makes a business of inducing illegal abortions: "The backstreet abortionist was arrested by the police." 3. People who support, or advocate ending pregnancies when a woman wants it to be done: "The noisy crowd in front of the clinic included many well known abortionists." 4. Anyone who takes the action of stopping a project, a mission, etc, before it is completed: "The engineer for the city was an abortionist who advocated discontinuing the building of the expensive bridge because of the excessive costs."

abortion-on-demand (s), abortions-on-demand (pl) (nouns)

The right of a woman to have a medical operation at any time during pregnancy in which a developing baby is removed so it is not born alive: "The rallying cry of the pro-choice group at the parade was for the right of women to have abortions-on-demand."

abortive (adjective)

1. A reference to being incompletely developed: "Constance made an abortive effort to get her acting career back on track." 2. An intervention to end a pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus from the womb: "The surgery which the veterinarian performed was an abortive effort and did not save the unborn calf." 3. Cutting short the course of a disease: "The normal course of the illness was not felt because of the abortive intervention by the medical specialists." 4. Failing to accomplish an objective, futile; imperfectly developed: "Marlene and Vincent made an abortive attempt to complete the project."

abortively (adverb)

In an untimely manner; immaturely; fruitlessly: "Bessie was abortively chasing the taxi down the street after she realized that she left a package in the back seat."

"The life of the horse was abortively cut short by an untimely accident."

abortiveness (normally singular) (noun)

1. That which has failed to accomplish an intended result: "The abortiveness of solving the financial crisis has resulted in a worse economic situation." 2. Something which is partially or imperfectly developed: "There was an abortiveness about the jokes that were being told at the Stand-Up Comedy club."

"When Vincent, the chief officer retired, he acknowledged the single abortiveness of his career was the result of his being unable to prevent the foreclosures on mortgages."

abortorium, (s); abortoria (pl) (nouns)

A clinic (clinics) or a hospital (hospitals) where premature stoppages of natural or pathological processes are performed: "The veterinarian college established an abortorium for the students to use for their studies."

"There were several abortoria in the rural area of the province."

abrasion (s), abrasions (pl) (nouns)

1. Something that has been scraped or rubbed off; such as, skin: "The nurse put medication on the abrasion of the child's knee."

"The abrasion on Rodney's knee finally healed."

2. A wearing away by rubbing or scraping, as of rock by wind, water, etc.: "Years of abrasions had worn the stones smooth."

"The abrasions on the cliff side were examples of the destructive powers of natural resources, winds, and water."

3. Etymology: from Medieval Latin (about A.D. 700 to A.D. 1500) abrasionem, abrasio, "a scraping"; from Latin abradere, "to scrape away, to shave off"; from ab-, "off" + radere, "to scrape" or "to rub".

abrasive (adjective)

Harsh, irritating, or caustic: "The politician's abrasive remarks angered the audience with some of them yelling their own abrasive comments back at him."

"The abrasive effect of sandpaper on the wood made it smooth and easy to paint on."

abrasive (s), abrasives (pl) (nouns)

1. A scraping or grinding material: "Natalie was told that sandpaper, or some other abrasive, would be needed to remove the old paint." 2. A substance used for rubbing or polishing: "The cabinetmaker recommended an abrasive that used only natural materials for use on the wooden furniture."

"When Glenda went to the store, she noticed that there were at least three kinds of abrasives from which to choose for her home improvement project."

abridge, abridges; abridged; abridging (verbs)

1. To shorten; to make shorter, to cut short in its duration, to lessen the duration of; originally of time, or things occupying time: "Patricia wants to abridge the long essay into a shortened, easily read format."

"Bryan will abridge his original speech from five pages to just one page."

2. To make shorter in words, while retaining the sense and substance of the written text; to condense, to epitomize: "The book was abridged to a more readable length." 3. To produce by shortening from a larger work to a condensed form: "The mayor agreed to abridge his comments to accommodate the featured speaker's schedule." 4. To curtail, to lessen, to diminish rights, privileges, advantages, or authority: "No one should be able to abridge your legal rights."

"Taking a shortcut in the city abridges the time we need to get to the city in time for the concert."

"The doctor is abridging his discussion about the operation because the audience appears to be tired or bored."

5. Etymology: from Middle English abregen and Old French abregier, abreger, "to shorten"; from Latin abbreviare, "abbreviate"; from Latin ab-, "from, away from" or ad-, "to, toward, addition to" + breviare, "to shorten"; and from brevis, "short".

Abridge and abbreviate both carry the idea of shortening so that what remains adequately represents the whole.

To abridge suggests the cutting away of nonessentials while retaining the core. To abbreviate, generally used in reference to words or phrases, implies shortening by the compression or omission of parts, the remainder standing for the whole: to abridge a novel for its inclusion in a magazine; the abbreviated name of an advertising agency.

—Compiled from information located in Choose the Right Word, a Modern Guide to Synonyms by S.I. Hayakawa; Harper & Row, Publishers; New York; 1968; page 546.

There are some disagreements among lexicographers regarding which prefix should be used; so, some dictionaries don't bother to indicate a prefix.

One source, The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology, presents the following: abridge, about 1303, abregen, "curtail, lessen", borrowed from Old French abregier or abreger, from Late Latin abbreviare, "to make brief".

—Compiled from The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology by Robert K. Barnhart, Editor; The H.W. Wilson Company; 1988; page 4.

Then The American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary indicates that abridge comes from Middle English abregen, from Old French abregier, from Late Latin abbreviare, to ABBREVIATE.

It then says that the etymology of abbreviate is from Middle English abbreviaten, from Late Latin abbreviare, "to shorten": ab-, "off", or ad-, "toward" + brevis, "short".

—Compiled from The American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary, Coordinating Editor, Pamela B. De Vinne; Houghton Mifflin Company; Boston; 1982; pages 14 & 18.

So, which of the sources is correct? It appears that the American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary took the easy way out by writing that abridge comes from ab-, "off", or ad-, "toward" + brevis, "short"; and this version is essentially shown above in #5, which is the Etymology entry.

abridgment (s); abridgments (pl) (nouns)

1. The act or process of shortening; a shortening of time or labor; a curtailment of privileges: "The city council voted for an abridgment of the mayor's power." 2. A compendium of a larger work, with the details and less important things omitted, but retaining the sense and substance; an epitome, or abstract: "Did you see the new abridgment of Gibbon's Roman History?"

"The professor really liked the abridgment of the latest novel by his favorite writer that was published in the newspaper."

3. Etymology: Abridgment, or abridgement was borrowed from Old French abregement, from abregier, "to shorten, to diminish"; from Latin abbreviare, "to make short".

abrogate (AB ruh gayt"), abrogates; abrogated; abrogating (verbs)

1. To abolish or to annul by authority; to nullify, to cancel: "Congress once passed laws prohibiting the sale of liquor in the U.S.; however, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution abrogated those laws and now alcohol may be legally sold."

"The Board of Directors at the museum decided to abrogate entrance fees for senior citizens."

2. To repeal, to annul, or to abolish something formally and publicly; especially, a law: "The king decided to abrogate the old law regarding poaching during the summer holidays."

"The new law abrogated the old law about paying parking fines."

"They will be abrogating the decision to increase student grants after the next election."

abrupt (adjective)

1. Ending suddenly; jerky and disconnected: "The car came to an abrupt stop at the railroad crossing."

"The open-air concert came to an abrupt end when the rain storm started."

2. Surprisingly curt; brusque; such as, an abrupt answer made in anger: "Leonard's abrupt reply hurt the couple's feelings."

"In an effort to avoid appearing abrupt in her mannerisms, the teacher smiled in a friendly fashion."

3. Touching on one subject after another with sudden transitions: abrupt prose: "The speaker made abrupt references to several different topics during the few minutes he spoke." 4. Steeply inclined; having a sharp inclination; precipitous: "The cliff made an abrupt descent to the sea." 5. In botany, terminating suddenly rather than gradually; truncate: an abrupt leaf: "The stem of the leaf became abrupt and narrowed close to the main branch of the tree." 6. Etymology: made up of ab-, "off" + rumpere, "to break", "to break off".