abusion

English

Etymology

From Middle English abusioun, from Old French abusion, from Latin abūsiō (“abuse, misuse”), from abūtor (“misuse”). Doublet of abusio.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈbjuː.ʒn̩/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈbju.ʒn̩/
• Rhymes: -uːʒən

Noun

abusion (countable and uncountable, plural abusions) (chiefly Early Modern)

1. (obsolete) Misuse, abuse; in particular, illegal behaviour; verbal, physical or sexual abuse. [14th–18th c.]
2. (obsolete) Deceit; abuse of the truth. [15th–17th c.]
   • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:

     Such tunges unhappy hath made great diviſion
     In realmes, in cities, by ſuche fals abuſion;
     Of fals fickil tunges ſuche cloked colluſion
     Hath brought nobil princes to extreme confuſion.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     […] by those vgly formes weren pourtrayd, / Foolish delights and fond abusions, / Which do that sence besiege with light illusions.

3. (obsolete, rhetoric) Catachresis. [16th–18th c.]

Related terms

• abuse

Old French

Noun

abusion oblique singular, f (oblique plural abusions, nominative singular abusion, nominative plural abusions)

1. abuse
2. deception; deceit
3. lie; untruth
   • c. 1250, Rutebeuf, Ci encoumence la desputizons dou croisie et dou descroisie.:

     Tu dis si grant abusion
     Que nus ne la porroit descrire[.]

     You say such lies
     That no-one could describe them

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (abusion)