abhor

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English[edit]

WOTD – 4 March 2008

Etymology[edit]

First attested in 1449, from Middle English abhorren, borrowed from Middle French abhorrer, from Latin abhorreō (“shrink away from in horror”), from ab- (“from”) +‎ horreō (“stand aghast, bristle with fear”).[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

abhor (third-person singular simple present abhors, present participle abhorring, simple past and past participle abhorred)

  1. (transitive) To regard with horror or detestation; to shrink back with shuddering from; to feel excessive repugnance toward; to detest to extremity; to loathe. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).][2]
    • 1611, Romans 12:9, King James Bible:
      Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
  2. (transitive, obsolete, impersonal) To fill with horror or disgust. [Attested from the mid 16th century until the early 17th century.][2]
  3. (transitive) To turn aside or avoid; to keep away from; to reject.
  4. (transitive, canon law, obsolete) To protest against; to reject solemnly.
    • c. 1613 William Shakespeare, Henry VIII, act 2, scene 4:
      I utterly abhor, yea, from my soul Refuse you for my judge.
  5. (intransitive, obsolete) To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; construed with from. [Attested from the mid 16th century until the mid 17th century.][2]
    • (Can we find and add a quotation of Nicholas Udall to this entry?):
      To abhor from those vices.
    • c. 1644, John Milton, "The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce", Book II, Chap. 7.
      Either then the law by harmless and needful dispenses, which the gospel is now made to deny, must have anticipated and exceeded the grace of the gospel, or else must be found to have given politic and superficial graces without real pardon, saying in general, “do this and live,” and yet deceiving and damning underhand with unsound and hollow permissions; which is utterly abhorring from the end of all law, as hath been shewed.
  6. (intransitive, obsolete) Differ entirely from. [Attested from the mid 16th century until the late 17th century.][2]

Conjugation[edit]

Conjugation of abhor
infinitive (to) abhor
present tense past tense
1st person singular abhor abhored
2nd person singular abhor, abhorest*
3rd person singular abhors, abhoreth*
plural abhor
subjunctive abhor
imperative abhor —
participles abhoring abhored
* Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

References[edit]

  1. ^ Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 2
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 “abhor” in Lesley Brown, editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 4.

Anagrams[edit]

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