absolute

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Contents

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

  • First attested around 1380.
  • From Middle English absolut, from Middle French absolut, from Latin absolūtus (“unconditional; unfettered; completed”), perfect passive participle of absolvō (“loosen, set free, complete”), from Latin ab (“away”) + solvo (“to loose”)[1].
  • Influenced in part by Old French absolu.[2]
  • See absolve.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) IPA: /ˈæb.səˌluːt/, X-SAMPA: /"{bs@%lu:t/, /%{bs@"lu:t/
  • (US) IPA: /ˈæb.səˌlut/, /ˌæb.səˈljut/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Audio (UK)
    		(file)

Adjective[edit]

absolute (comparative more absolute or (rarely) absoluter, superlative most absolute or (rarely) absolutest)

  1. (obsolete) Absolved; free. [Attested from around 1350 to 1470 until the mid 17th century.][2]
  2. (obsolete) Disengaged from accidental circumstances. [Attested from around 1350 until 1470.][2]
  3. (archaic) Complete in itself; perfect; consummate; faultless; finished. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton:
      So absolute she seems, And in herself complete.
  4. (grammar) Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence; as[First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
    1. (of a case form) syntactically connected to the rest of the sentence in an atypical manner; ablative absolute; nominative absolute; genitive absolute; accusative absolute. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
    2. standing by itself in a loose syntactical connection, and qualifying the sentence as a whole rather than any single word in it. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
      Anyhow in 'anyhow, I made it home' is an absolute.
    3. (of an adjective or possessive pronoun) lacking a modified substantive. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
      Hungry in 'Feed the hungry.'
    4. (comparative, superlative) expressing a relative term without a definite comparison.'[First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
      Older in 'An older person should be treated with respect.
    5. (transitive) having no direct object. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
      Kill in 'If looks could kill...'
    6. (Ireland, Wales) an inflected verb that is not preceded by any number of articles or compounded with a preverb. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][2]
  5. (obsolete) Absorbed in, as an occupation. [Attested only in the late 15th century.][2]
  6. Unrestricted; in sole control; possessing absolute power; independent, as in ownership or authority. [First attested in the late 15th century.][2]
  7. Pure; mere; unadulerated; unmixed; as, absolute alcohol. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][2]
  8. (figuratively) Complete; utter; outright; unmitigated; entire; total; not qualified or diminished in any way; unrestricted; without limitation. [First attested in the late 16th century.][2]
    When caught, he told an absolute lie.
  9. Unconditional; free from restraint and control as in powers or rights;[First attested in the mid 16th century.][2]
    1. having supreme power, without limits set by a constitution, parliament, or other means. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][2]
    2. proceeding from or characteristic of an absolute ruler. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][2]
    • 1962, Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, (1990), page 155:
      […] the more absolute the ruler, the more absolute the revolution will be which replaces him.
    1. Absolutist; arbitrary; despotic. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][2]
  10. Real; actual. [First attested in the early 17th century.][2]
  11. (archaic) Certain; free from doubt or uncertainty, as a person or prediction. [First attested in the early 17th century.][2]
  12. Positive; unquestionable; peremptory. [First attested in the early 17th century.][2]
  13. Free from conditional limitations; operating or existing in full under all circumstances without variation. [First attested in the early 17th century.][2]
  14. (philosophy) Existing, able to be thought of, or able to be viewed without relation to other things. [First attested in the late 18th century.][2]
    absolute motion
    absolute time or space
    Absolute rights and duties are such as pertain to man in a state of nature as contradistinguished from relative rights and duties, or such as pertain to him in his social relations.
    • (Can we date this quote?) William Hamilton:
      To Cusa we can indeed articulately trace, word and thing, the recent philosophy of the absolute.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
      The peddler stopped, and tapped her on the head, With absolute forefinger, brown and ringed.
  15. (philosophy) Fundamental; ultimate; intrinsic; free from the variability and error natural to the human way of thinking and perception. [First attested in the late 18th century.][2]
  16. (physics) Independent of arbitrary units of measurement not comparative or relative as,
    1. having reference to or derived from the simplest manner from the fundamental units of mass, time, and length.
    2. relating to the absolute temperature scale.
  17. (law) Complete; unconditional; final; without encumbrances; not liable to change or cancellation.
  18. (education) Pertaining to a grading system based on the knowledge of the individual and not on the comparative knowledge of the group of students.
  19. (art) Concerned entirely with expressing beauty and feelings, lacking meaningful reference.
  20. (dance) Utilizing the body to express ideas, independent of music and costumes.
  21. (mathematics) Indicating an expression that is true for all real number; unconditional.

Synonyms[edit]

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. Use the template {{sense|"gloss"}}, substituting a short version of the definition for "gloss".

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from "absolute"

Translations[edit]

loosed from any limitation or condition
complete in itself
viewed apart from modifying influences or without comparison with other objects
loosed from, or unconnected by, dependence on any other being
capable of being thought or conceived by itself alone
rare: positive; clear
rare: authoritative; peremptory
chemistry: pure; unmixed
grammar: not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence in government
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun[edit]

absolute (plural absolutes)

  1. That which is independent of context-dependent interpretation, inviolate, fundamental. [First attested in the mid 19th century.][2]
    moral absolutes
  2. Any thing that is absolute. [First attested in the mid 19th century.][2]
  3. (geometry) In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.
  4. (philosophy, usually capitalized) A realm which exists without reference to anything else; that which can be imagined purely by itself; absolute ego.
    • 1983, Lawrence Durrell, Sebastian, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 1039:
      Withdrawn as a Buddha he sat, watching the alien world from his perch in the absolute.
  5. (philosophy, usually capitalized) The unity of spirit and nature; God.
  6. (philosophy, usually capitalized) The whole of reality; the totality to which everything is reduced.
  7. Concentrated natural flower oil, used for perfumes.

Usage notes[edit]

  • (not dependent on anything else): Usually preceded by the word the.
  • (all, philosophy): Usually preceded by the word the

Translations[edit]

that which is independent of context-dependent interpretation
(geometry)
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 1971 [1969], Morris, William editor, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, New York, NY: American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., ISBN 0-395-09066-0, page 5:
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2003 [1933], Brown, Lesley editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, edition 5th, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7, page 9:

External links[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Adjective[edit]

absolute

  1. the inflected formFAQ of absoluut

Esperanto[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA: /apsoˈlute/

Adverb[edit]

absolute

  1. absolutely

German[edit]

Adjective[edit]

absolute

  1. inflected form of absolut

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From absolūtus (“complete, finished”).

Adverb[edit]

absolūtē (comparative absolūtius, superlative absolūtissimē)

  1. absolutely, completely, fully

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • absolute in Charlton T. Lewis & Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879

Swedish[edit]

Adjective[edit]

absolute

  1. absolute definite natural masculine form of absolut.
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