abnegation

See also: abnégation

English

Etymology

First attested before 1398. From Middle English abnegacioun, borrowed from Late Latin abnegātiō, from abnegō (“refuse, deny”), from ab (“off”) + negō (“deny; refuse, say no”). Compare French abnégation.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ăb.nĭgāʹshən
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌæbnɪˈɡeɪ̯ʃən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌæbnəˈɡeɪ̯ʃən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: ab‧ne‧ga‧tion

Noun

abnegation (countable and uncountable, plural abnegations)

1. A denial; a renunciation; denial of desire or self-interest. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

   Synonyms: repudiation, self-denial, denial, renunciation

   • 1558, John Knox, Letter to the Queen Dowager:

     With abnegation of God, of his honor, and of religion, they may retain the friendship of the court.

   • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

     Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, while in the case of monk and crusader there must have been a sustaining purpose, and possibly a great abnegation, a leaving of lands and possessions.”

Derived terms

• self-abnegation

Related terms

• abnegate
• abnegator
• abnegatory

Translations

denial; renunciation

• Arabic: نكران تنازل
• Bulgarian: отричане (bg) n (otričane), отхвърляне (bg) n (othvǎrljane)
• Catalan: abnegació f
• Dutch: verloochening (nl), verwerping (nl) m, afwijzing (nl)
• Esperanto: abnegacio
• Finnish: kieltäminen (fi)
• French: abnégation (fr) f
• Hindi: आत्मनिषेध (ātmaniṣedh)
• Irish: diúltú m
• Interlingua: abnegation
• Italian: abnegazione (it) f
• Macedonian: самоодреку́вање n (samoodrekúvanje)
• Malayalam: നിരാകരണം (ml) (nirākaraṇaṁ)
• Portuguese: abnegação (pt) f
• Romanian: abnegație (ro) f
• Russian: самоотрече́ние (ru) m (samootrečénije)
• Spanish: abnegación (es) f
• Ukrainian: зречення n (zrečennja), запере́чення n (zaperéčennja); самопожертва f (samopožertva)

Interlingua

Etymology

From English abnegation, French abnégation, Spanish abnegación, Portuguese abnegação and Italian abnegazione, all from Late Latin abnegātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab.ne.ɡaˈt͡sjon/, /-sjon/

Noun

abnegation (plural abnegationes)

1. abnegation

Further reading

• Alexander Gode (1951), Interlingua-English: A Dictionary of the International Language, New York: Storm Publishers, →OL