abacination

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From abacinate +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /əˌbæsɪˈneɪʃən/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

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abacination (countable and uncountable, plural abacinations)

  1. The act of abacinating, of blinding with the light from hot metal
    • 1902, James Meeker Ludlow, Incentives for Life, Personal and Public[1], page 144:
      That blind general lost his sight by the process of abacination.
    • 1972, Trevanian (pseud.), The Eiger Sanction[2], Ballantine, published 1984, →ISBN, page 105:
      Her warmth and radiance had blinded him, a self-inflicted abacination.
    • 1982, Gene Wolfe, chapter XXIV, in The Sword of the Lictor (The Book of the New Sun; 3), New York: Timescape, →ISBN, page 179:
      I, who had seen so many brandings and abacinations, and had even used the iron myself (among the billion things I recall perfectly is the flesh of Morwenna's cheeks blistering), could scarcely force myself to go and look at him.