abortive
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English, from Old French abortif,[1] from Latin abortīvus (“causing abortion”), from aborior (“miscarry, disappear”), from ab (“amiss”) + orior (“appear, be born, arise”)[2].
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
abortive (comparative more abortive, superlative most abortive)
- (obsolete) Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural. [c. 1400–mid 1700s][1]
- c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iii]:
- Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog!
- an abortive child
- Coming to nothing; failing in its effect. [from late 1500s][1].
- Synonyms: miscarrying, fruitless, unsuccessful
- an abortive attempt
- 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 7, in The House of the Seven Gables[1]:
- He made a salutation, or, to speak nearer the truth, an ill-defined, abortive attempt at curtsy.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1799 edition:
- […] and with utter loss of being / Threatens him, plung'd in that abortive gulf.
- 1838, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella:
- The king in vain excused his hasty retreats and abortive enterprises
- (biology) Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile. [from mid 1700s][1]
- (pharmacology, medicine, rare, attributive) Causing abortion; abortifacient
- 1809, Bartholomew Parr, Medical Dictionary
- abortive medicines
- 1809, Bartholomew Parr, Medical Dictionary
- (medicine) Cutting short; acting to halt or slow the progress (of a disease).
- abortive treatment of typhoid fever
- Made from the skin of a still-born animal.
- abortive vellum
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
produced by abortion; born prematurely
coming to naught; fruitless
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imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile
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causing abortion
medicine: cutting short
made from the skin of an unborn animal
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Noun[edit]
abortive (plural abortives)
- (obsolete) Someone or something born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the mid 18th century.][1]
- 1592, Shakespeare, Richard III, I-iii:
- Thou elvish-mark'd, abortive, rooting hog!
- (obsolete) A fruitless effort. [Attested from the early 17th century until the early 18th century.][1]
- (obsolete) A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion, abortifacient.
Translations[edit]
that which is born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion
fruitless effort
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a medicine
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb[edit]
abortive (third-person singular simple present abortives, present participle abortiving, simple past and past participle abortived)
- (transitive, obsolete) To cause an abortion; to render without fruit. [Attested only in the 17th century.][1]
References[edit]
- abortive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abortive”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 7.
- ^ Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 4
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
abortive
German[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Adjective[edit]
abortive
- inflection of abortiv:
Italian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
abortive
Anagrams[edit]
Latin[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /a.borˈtiː.u̯e/, [äbɔrˈt̪iːu̯ɛ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /a.borˈti.ve/, [äborˈt̪iːve]
Adjective[edit]
abortīve
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /abɔˈʈiːʋə/, /abɔʁˈtiːʋə/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -iːʋə
- Hyphenation: ab‧or‧ti‧ve
- Homophone: abortivet
Adjective[edit]
abortive
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