Etymology Dictionary

A - Azure

1. A, the indef. article; see An.

2. A-, prefix, has at least thirteen different values in English.  α. Representative words are (1) adown; (2) afoot; (3) along; (4) arise; (5) achieve; (6) avert; (7) amend; (8) alas; (9) abyss; (10) ado; (11) aware; (12) apace; (13) avast.  β. The full form of these values may be represented by of-, on-, and-, us-, ad-, ab-, ex-, he-, an-, at-,  ge-, án, houd.  γ. This may be illustrated by means of the examples given; cf. (1) A. S. ofdúne; (2) on foot; (3) A. S. andlang; (4) Mœso-Gothic ur-reisan, for us-reisan; (5) verb from F. à chef, Lat. ad caput; (6) Lat. auertere, for abuertere; (7) F. amender, corrupted from Lat. emendare, for exmendare; (8) F. hélas, where hé  is interjectional; (9) Gk. αβυσσος, for ανβυσσος; (10) for at do, i.e. to do; (11) for M.E. ywar, A. S. gewær; (12) apace, for a pace, i.e. one pace, where a  is for A. S. án, one; (13) avast, Dutch houd vast, hold fast. These prefixes are discussed at greater length in my article 'On the Prefix A- in English,' in the Journal of Philology, vol. v. pp. 32-43. See also each of the above-mentioned representative words in its proper place in this Dictionary.  ¶ Prefix a (5) really has two values: (α) French, as in avalanche; (b) Latin, as in astringent; but the source is the same, viz. Lat. ad. Similarly, prefix a (6) really has two values; (α) French, as in abate; (b) Latin, as in avert, avocation; the source being Lat. ab.  ➩ In words discussed below, the prefix has its number assigned in accordance with the above scheme, where necessary.

3. AB- prefix. (Lat.)  Lat. ab, short form a; sometimes extended to abs. Cognate with Skt. apa, away, from; Gk. από; Goth. af; A.S. of; see Of. Hence numerous compounds, as abdicate, abstract, &c. In French, it becomes a- or av-; see Abate, Advantage.

4. ABACK, backwards. (E.)  M.E. abakke; as in 'And worthy to be put abakke;'  Gower, C.A. i. 295. For on bakke, as in 'Sir Thopas drough on bak  ful faste;' Chaucer, C.T. Group B, 2017, in the Harleian MS., where other MSS. have abak.—A.S. onbæc; Matt. iv. 10. Thus the prefix is a- (2); see A-. See On and Back [†]

5. ABAFT, on the aft, behind. (E.)  α. From the prefix a- (2), and -baft, which is contracted from bi-aft, i.e. by aft. Thus abaft  is for on (the) by aft, i.e. in that which lies towards the after part.  β. -baft  is M.E. baft, Allit. Poems, 3. 148; the fuller form is biaft  or biaften, as in 'He let biaften the more del' = he left behind the greater part; Genesis and Exodus, 3377. M.E. biaften is from A.S. beæftan, compounded of be, by, and æftan, behind; Grein, i. 53. See By, and Aft.

6. ABANDON, to forsake, give up. (F.,—Low Lat.,—O.H.G.)  M.E. abandoune. 'Bot thai, that can thame abandoune Till ded' = but they, that gave themselves up to death; Barbour's Bruce, ed. Skeat, xvii. 642.—F. abandonner, to give up.—F. à bandon, at liberty, discussed in Brachet, Etym. F. Dict.—F. à, prep., and bandon, permission, liberty.—Lat. ad, to; and Low Lat. bandum, a feudal term (also spelt bannum) signifying an order, decree; see Ban.  ¶ The F. à bandon is lit. 'by proclamation,' and thus has the double sense (1) 'by license,' or 'at liberty,' and (2) 'under control.' The latter is obsolete in modern English; but occurs frequently in M.E. See Glossary to the Bruce; and cf. 'habben abandun,' to have at one's will, O. Eng. Homilies, ed. Morris, i. 189.  Der. abandon-ed, lit. given up; abandon-ment.

7. ABASE, to bring low. (F.,—Low Lat.)  Shak. has 'abase our eyes so low,' 2 Hen. VI, i. 2. 15. Cf. 'So to abesse his roialte,' Gower, C.A. i. 111.—F. abaisser, abbaisser, 'to debase, abase, abate, humble;' Cotgrave.—Low Lat. abassare, to lower.—Lat. ad, to; and Low Lat. bassare, to lower.—Low Lat. bassus, low. See Base. Der. abase-ment, A.V. Ecclus xx.11.  ¶ It is extremely probable that some confusion has taken place between this word and to abash; for in Middle English we find abaist, abayst, abaysed, abaysyd, &c. with the sense of abashed  or dismayed. See numerous examples under abasen  in Mätzner's Wörterbuch. He regards the M.E. abasen as equivalent to abash, not to abase.

8. ABASH, to confuse with shame. (F.)  M.E. abaschen, abaischen, abaissen, abasen, &c. 'I abasche, or am amased of any thynge;' Palsgrave. 'Thei weren abaischt  with greet stoneyinge;' Wyclif, Mk. v. 42. 'He was abasched and agast;' K. Alisaunder, ed. Weber, l. 224.—O.F. esbahir, to astonish (see note below); mod. F. ébahir.—Prefix es- (Lat. ex, out); and bahir, to express astonishment, an onomatopoetic word formed from the interjection bah! of astonishment. Cf. Du. verbazen, to astonish, amaze; Walloon bawi, to regard with open mouth; Grandg.  ¶ The final -sh is to be thus accounted for. French verbs in -ir  are of two forms, those which (like venir ) follow the Latin inflexions, and those which (like fleurir ) add -iss to the root. See Brachet's Hist. French Grammar, Kitchin's translation, p. 131. This -iss is imitated from the Lat. -esc- seen in 'inchoative' verbs, such as floresco, and appears in many parts of the French verb, which is thus conjugated to a great degree as if its infinitive were fleurissir  instead of fleurir.  β. An excellent example is seen in óbeir, to obey, which would similarly have, as it were, a secondary form óbeissir; and, corresponding to these forms, we have in English not only to obey, but the obsolete form obeysche, as in 'the wynd and the sea obeyschen to hym;' Wyclif, Mk. iv. 41.  γ. Easier examples appear in E. abolish, banish, cherish, demolish, embellish, establish, finish, flourish, furbish, furnish, garnish, languish, nourish, polish, punish, all from French verbs in -ir.  δ. We also have examples like admonish, diminish, replenish, evidently from French sources, in which the termination is due to analogy; these are discussed in their proper places.  ε. In the present case we have O.F. esbahir, whence (theoretical) esbahissir, giving M.E. abaischen and abaissen.  ¶ It is probable that the word to abash has been to some extent confused with to abase. See Abase.

9. ABATE, to beat down. (F.,—L.)  M.E. abaten.  'To abate the bost of that breme duke;' Will. of Palerne, 1141.  'Thou...abatest  alle tyrannè;' K. Alisaunder, ed. Weber, l. 7499.—O.F. abatre, to beat down.—Low Lat. abbattere; see Brachet.—Lat. ab, from; and batere, popular form of batuere, to beat.  Der. abate-ment, and F. abbatt-oir.  ¶ Often contracted to bate, q.v.

10. ABBESS, fem. of abbot. (F.,—L.)  M.E. abbesse, Rob. of Glouc. p. 370.—O.F. abaesse, abbesse; see abbéesse in Roquefort.—Lat. abbatissa, fem. in -issa  from abbat-, stem of abbas, an abbot.  See Abbot.

11. ABBEY,  a religious house. (F.,—L.)  M.E. abbeye, abbaye.  'Abbeye, abbatia' [misprinted abbacia], Prompt. Parv.  Spelt abbei  in the Metrical Life of St. Dunstan, l. 39.—O.F. abeie, abaie; Bartsch's Chrestomathie.—Low Lat. abbatia.—Low Lat. abbat-, stem of abbas. See Abbot.

12. ABBOT, the father (or head) of an abbey. (L.,—Syriac.)  M.E. abbot, abbod.  'Abbot, abbas;'  Prompt. Parv.  Spelt abbod, Ancren Riwle, p. 314; abbed, Rob. of Glouc. p. 447.—A.S. abbod, abbad; Ælfric's homily on the Old Test. begins with the words 'Ælfric abbod.'—Lat. abbatem, acc. of abbas, father.—Syriac abba, father; see Romans, viii. 15; Galat. iv. 6  ¶ The restoration of the t  (corrupted to d  in A.S.) was no doubt due to a knowledge of the Latin form; cf. O.F. abet, an abbot.

13. ABBREVIATE, to shorten. (L.)  Fabyan has abreuyatyd in the sense of abridged; Henry III, an. 26 (R.)  Elyot has 'an abbreuiate, called of the Grekes and Latines epitoma;' The Governor, b. iii. c. 24 (R.)—Lat. abbreuiare (pp. abbreuiatus), to shorten, found in Vegetius (Brachet).—Lat. ad, to; and breuis, short.  See Brief, and Abridge.  Der. abbreviat-ion, -or.  Doublet, abridge.  ¶ Here adbreuiare would at once become abbreuiare; cf. Ital. abbonare, to improve, abbassare, to lower, abbellare, to embellish, where the prefix is plainly ad.  ➩ The formation of verbs in -ate in English is curious; a good example is create, plainly equivalent to Lat. creare; but it does not follow that create was necessarily formed from the pp. creatus. Such verbs in -ate can be formed directly from Lat. verbs in -are, by mere analogy with others. All that was necessary was to initiate such a habit of formation. This habit plainly began with words like advocate, which was originally a past participle used as a noun, and, secondarily, was used as a verb by the very common English habit whereby substantives are so freely used as verbs.

14. ABDICATE, lit. to renounce. (L.)  In Levins, A.D. 1570; and used by Bishop Hall, in his Contemplations, b. iv. c. 6. § 2 (R.)—Lat. abdicare (see note to Abbreviate).—Lat. ab, from; and dicare, to consecrate, proclaim.  Dicare is from the same root as dicere, to say; see Diction.  Der. abdicat-ion.

15. ABDOMEN, the lower part of the belly. (L.)  Modern; borrowed from Lat. abdomen, a word of obscure origin.  ¶ Fick suggests that -domen  may be connected with Skt. dáman, a rope, that which binds, and Gk. διάδημα, a fillet, from the ✔DA, to bind; cf. Skt. dá, Gk. δέειν, to bind.  See Fick, ii. 121.  Der. abdomin-al.

16. ABDUCE, to lead away. (L.)  Not old, and not usual.  Used by Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Errors, b. iii. c. 20. § 4 (R.) where some edd. have adduce.  More common is the derivative abduction, used by Blackstone, Comment. b. iv. c. 15, and a common law-term.—Lat. abducere, to lead away.—Lat. ab, from, away; and ducere, to lead.  See Duke.  Der. abduct-ion, abduct-or,  from the pp. abductus.

17. ABED, in bed. (E.)  Shakespeare has abed, As You Like It, ii. 4. 6, and elsewhere.  The prefix a- stands for on.  'Thu restest the on bædde' = thou restest thee abed; Layamon, ii. 372.

18. ABERRATION, a wandering. (L.)  In Blount's Gloss., ed. 1674.—Lat. aberrationem, acc. of aberratio.—Lat. aberrare, to wander from.—Lat. ab, away; and errare, to wander.  See Err.

19. ABET, to incite. (F.,—Scand.)  Used by Shak. Com. of Errors, ii. 2. 172.  [Earlier, the M.E. abet is a sb., meaning 'instigation;' Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 357.]—O.F. abeter, to deceive (Burguy); abet, instigation, deceit; cf. Low Lat. abettum, excitement, instigation.—O.F. a- = Lat. ad, to; and beter, to bait: cf. 'ung ours, quant il est bien betez' = a bear, when he is well baited; Roquefort.—Icel. beita, to bait, chase with dogs, set dogs on; lit. 'to make to bite;' causal verb from bíta, to bite.  See Bait; and see Bet.  Der. abett-or, Shak. Lucrece, 886.  ¶ The sense of O.F. abeter  is not well explained in Burguy, nor is the sense of beter clearly made out by Roquefort; abeter  no doubt had the sense of 'instigate,' as in English.  Burguy wrongly refers the etym. to A.S. bǽtan, instead of the corresponding Icel. beita.

20. ABEYANCE, expectation, suspension. (F.,—L.)  A law term; used by Littleton, and in Blackstone's Commentaries; see Cowel's Law Dict., and Todd's Johnson.—F. abéiance, in the phrase 'droit en abéiance,' a right in abeyance, or which is suspended (Roquefort).VF. prefix a- (= Lat. ad ); and béiance, expectation, a form not found, but consistent with the F. béant, gaping, pres. pt. of obs. verb béer (mod. F. bayer ), to gape, to expect anxiously.—Lat. ad; and badare, to gape, to open the mouth, used by Isidore of Seville; see Brachet, s.v. bayer.  The word badare is probably onomatopoetic; see Abash.

21. ABHOR, to shrink from with terror. (L.)  Shak. has it frequently.  It occurs in Lord Surrey's translation of Virgil, b. ii; cf. 'quanquam animus meminisse horret;' Aen. ii. 12.—Lat. abhorrere, to shrink from.—Lat. ab, from; and horrere, to bristle (with fear).  See Horrid.  Der. abhorr-ent, abhorr-ence.

22. ABIDE (1), to wait for. (E.)  M.E. abiden, Chaucer, C.T. Group E, 757, 1106; and in common use.—A.S. ábídan, Grein, i. 12.—A.S. prefix á-, equivalent to G. er-, Goth. us-;  and bídan, to bide. + Goth. usbeidan, to expect.  See Bide.  Der. abid-ing; abode, formed by variation of the root-vowel, the A.S. í  passing into á, which answers to the mod. E. long o;  March, A.S. Gram., sect. 230.

23. ABIDE (2), to suffer for a thing. (E.)  α. We find in Shak. 'lest thou abide  it dear,' Mids. Nt. Dream, iii. 2. 175; where the first quarto has aby. The latter is correct; the verb in the phrase 'to abide  it' being a mere corruption.  β. The M.E. form is abyen, as in 'That thou shalt with this launcegay Abyen  it ful soure;' Chaucer, C.T., Group B, 2011 (l. 13751).  This verb abyen  is also spelt abuggen and abiggen, and is extremely common in Middle English; see examples in Mätzner and Stratmann.  Its pt. tense is aboughte, and we still preserve it, in a reversed form, in the modern to buy off.  γ. Hence 'lest thou abide  it dear' signifies 'lest thou have to buy it off dearly,' i.e. lest thou have to pay dearly  for it.—A.S. ábycgan, to pay for. 'Gif fríman wið fríes mannes wíf geligeí, his wergelde ábicge' = If a free man lie with a freeman's wife, let him pay for it with his wergeld; Laws of King Æthelbirht, 31; pr. in Thorpe's Ancient Laws of England, i. 10.—A.S. á-, prefix, probably cognate with the Goth. us- (unless the prefix is a-, and is short for af-, put for of-, i.e. off); and A.S. bycgan, to buy.  See Buy.

24. ABJECT, mean; lit. cast away. (L.)  Shak. has it several times, and once the subst. abjécts, Rich. III, i. 1. 106.  It was formerly used also as a verb.  'Almighty God abjected  Saul, that he shulde no more reigne ouer Israel;' Sir T. Elyot. The Governour, b. ii. c. i.—Lat. abiectus, cast away. pp. of abiicere, to cast away.—Lat. ab; and iacere, to cast.  ¶ The Lat. iacere, according to Curtius. vol. ii. p. 59, 'can hardly be separated from Gk. ἰάπτειν, to throw.'  Fick suggests that the G. jah, quick, and jagen, to hunt, are from the same root; see Yacht.  Der. abject-ly, abject-ion, abject-ness, abjects (pl. sb.).

25. ABJURE, to forswear. (L.)  Sir T. More has abiure, Works p. 214b (R.)  Cotgrave has 'abjurer, to abjure, forswear, deny with an oath.'—Lat. abiurare, to deny.—Lat. ab, from; and iurare, to swear.—Lat. ius, gen. iuris, law, right.  ¶ With Lat. ius  cf. Skt. (Vedic) yos, from the root yu, to bind, to join; Benfey, p. 743; Fick, ii. 203.  ➩ In several words of this kind, it is almost impossible to say whether they were derived from Lat. immediately, or through the French. It makes no ultimate difference, and it is easier to consider them as from the Latin, unless the evidence is clearly against it.  Der. abjur-at-ion.

26. ABLATIVE, taking away. (L.)  Grammatical.—Lat. ablatiuus, the name of a case.—Lat. ab, from; and latum, to bear, used as active supine of fero, but from a different root.  Latum  is from an older form tlatum, from O.Lat. tulere, to lift; cf. Lat. tollere.  The corresponding Gk. form is τλητός, endured, from τλάειν, to endure. Coradicate words are tolerate and the Middle Eng. thole, to endure.  See Tolerate.  ¶ 'We learn from a fragment of Cæsar's work, De Analogiâ, that he was the inventor of the term ablative  in Latin. The word never occurs before;' Max Müller, Lectures, i. 118 (8th edit.).

27. ABLAZE, on fire. (E.)  For on blaze, i.e. in a blaze.  The A.S. and Mid. Eng. on  commonly has the sense of in.  See Abed, and Blaze.

28. ABLE, having power; skilful. (F.,—L.)  M.E. able, Chaucer, Prol. 584.—O.F. habile, able, of which Roquefort gives the forms abel, able.—Lat. habilis, easy to handle, active.—Lat. habere, to have, to hold.  β. The spelling hable  is also found, as, e.g. in Sir Thomas More, Dialogue concerning Heresies, b. iii. c. 16; also habilitie, R. Ascham, The Schoolmaster, ed. 1570, leaf 19 (ed. Arber, p. 63).  Der. abl-y, abil-i-ty  (from Lat. acc. habilitatem, from habilitas).

29. ABLUTION, a washing. (L.)  Used by Bp. Taylor (R.)  From Lat. acc. ablutionem.—Lat. abluere, to wash away.—Lat. ab, away; and luere, to wash. + Gk. λούειν, for λοέειν, to wash.—✔LU, to wash; Fick, ii. 223.  Cf. Lat. lauare, to wash. [†]

30. ABNEGATE, to deny. (L.)  Used by Knox and Sir E. Sandys (R.)—Lat. abnegare, to deny.—Lat. ab, from, away; and negare, to deny.  See Negation.  Der. abnegat-ion.

31. ABOARD, on board. (E.)  For on board.  'And stode on borde  baroun and knight To help king Richard for to fyght;' Richard Coer de Lion, 2543; in Weber, Met. Romances.

32. ABODE, a dwelling. (E.)  The M.E. abood  almost always has the sense of 'delay' or 'abiding;' see Chaucer, C.T. 967.  Older form abad, Barbour's Bruce, i. 142.  See Abide (1).

33. ABOLISH, to annul. (F.,—L.)  Used by Hall, Henry VIII. an. 28, who has the unnecessary spelling abholish, just as abominate was also once written abhominate.—F. abolir; (for the ending -sh see remarks on Abash.)—Lat. abolere, to annul.  ¶ The etymology of abolere is not clear; Fick (ii. 47) compares it with Gk. ἀπόλλυναι, to destroy, thus making Lat. olere = Gk. ὄλλυναι, to destroy.  Mr. Wedgwood suggests that abolescere  means to grow old, to perish, from the root al, to grow, for which see Fick, i. 499.  Benfey refers both ὄλλυναι and ὄρνυναι (as well as Lat. olere  and oriri ) to the same root as Skt. ri,  to go, to rise, to hurt, &c.  See the various roots of the form ar  in Fick, i. 19.  Der. abol-it-ion, abol-it-ion-ist.

34. ABOMINATE, to hate. (L.)  The verb is in Levins, A.D. 1570. Wyclif has abomynable, Titus, i. 16; spelt abhominable, Gower, C.A. i. 263; iii. 204.—Lat. abominari, to dislike; lit. to turn away from a thing that is of ill omen; (for the ending -ate, see note to Abbreviate.)—Lat. ab, from ; and omen, a portent.  See Omen.  Der. abomin-able, abomin-at-ion.

35. ABORTION, an untimely birth. (L.)  Abortion  occurs in Hakewill's Apology, p. 317 (R.)  Shak. has abortive, L. L. L. i. 1. 104.—Lat. acc. abortionem, from abortio.—Lat. abortus, pp. of aboriri, to fail.—Lat. ab, from, away; and oriri, to arise, grow. + Gk. ὄρνυμι, I excite (root ὀρ). + Skt. rinómi, I raise myself, I excite (root ar ).—✔AR, to arise, grow.  See Curtius, i. 432; Fick, i. 19.  From the same root, abort-ive.

36. ABOUND, to overflow, to be plentiful. (F.,—L.)  M.E. abounden, Wyclif, 2 Cor. ix. 8.  Also spelt habunden, as in Chaucer's translation of Boethius, b. ii. pr. 4; p. 41, l. 1073.—O.F. (and mod. F.) abonder.—Lat. abundare, to overflow.—Lat. ab; and unda, a wave.  See Undulate.  Der. abund-ance, abund-ant, abund-ant-ly.

37. ABOUT, around, concerning. (E.)  M.E. abuten, Ormulum, 4084; later, abouten, aboute.—A.S. ábútan; as in 'ábútan  þone munt' = around the mountain, Exod. xix. 12.  α. Here the prefix á- is short for an-, the older form (as well as a later form) of on; and we accordingly find also the form onbútan, Genesis, ii. II.  [A commoner A.S. form was ymbútan, but here the prefix is different, viz. ymb, about, corresponding to Ger. um.]  β. The word bútan is itself a compound of be, by, and útan, outward.  Thus the word is resolved into on-be-útan, on (that which is) by (the) outside.  γ. Again útan, outward, outside, is an adverb formed from the prep. út, out.  See On, By, and Out.  The words abaft  and above have been similarly resolved into on-by-aft  and on-by-ove(r).  See Abaft, Above.  ¶ Similar forms are found in Old Friesic, where abefta is deducible from an-bi-efta; abuppa (above), from an-bi-uppa; and abuta (about), from an-bi-uta.

38. ABOVE, over. (E.)  M.E. abufen, Ormulum, 6438; later, aboven, above.—A.S. ábufan, A.S. Chron. an. 1090.—A.S. an, on; be, by; and ufan, upward; the full form be-ufan actually occurs in the Laws of Æthelstan, in Wilkins, p. 63.  See About.  The word ufan is exactly equivalent to the cognate G. oben, and is an extended or adverbial form from the Goth. uf, which is connected with E. up.  See On, By, and Up.  Cf. Du. boven, above.

39. ABRADE, to scrape off. (L.)  In Bailey, vol. ii. ed. 1731.—Lat. abradere, to scrape off, pp. abrasus.—Lat. ab, off; and radere, to scrape.  See Rase.  Der. abrase, pp. in Ben Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, Act v. sc. 3. descr. of Apheleia; abras-ion.

40. ABREAST, side by side, (E.)  In Shak. Hen. V, iv. 6. 17.  The prefix is for an, M.E. form of on; cf. abed, asleep, &c.

41. ABRIDGE, to shorten. (F.,—L.)  M.E. abregen, abrege;  Hampole, Pricke of Conscience, 4571; also abregge, Chaucer, C.T. 3001.—O.F. abrevier  (Burguy); also spelt abrever, abbregier, abridgier, abrigier  (Roquefort).—Lat. abbreuiare, to shorten.  Der. abridge-ment.  Doublet, abbreviate, q.v.

42. ABROACH, TO SET, to broach. (Hybrid; E. and F.)  M.E. setten abroche, Gower, C.A. ii. 183.  For setten on broche;  cf. 'to set on fire.'  From E. on;  and O.F. broche, a spit, spigot.  See Broach.

43. ABROAD, spread out. (E.)  M.E. abrood, Chaucer, C.T. Group F, l. 441; abrod, Rob. of Glouc. p. 542.  For on brood, or on brod.  'The bawme thurghe his brayn all on brod  ran;' Destruction of Troy, 8780.  M.E. brod, brood  is the mod. E. broad.  See Broad.

44. ABROGATE, to repeal. (L.)  In Shak. L. L. L. iv. 2. 55. Earlier, in Hall, Ed. IV, an. 9.—Lat. abrogare, to repeal a law; (for the ending -ate see note on Abbreviate.)—Lat. ab, off, away; and rogare, to ask, to propose a law.  See Rogation.  Der. abrogat-ion.

45. ABRUPT, broken off, short, rough. (L.)  Shak. 1 Hen. VI, ii. 3. 30.—Lat. abruptus, broken off, pp. of abrumpere, to break off.—Lat. ab; and rumpere, to break.  See Rupture.  Der. abrupt-ly, abrupt-ness; abrupt, sb., as in Milton, P. L. ii. 409.

46. ABSCESS, a sore. (L.)  In Kersey, ed. 1715.—Lat. abscessus, a going away, a gathering of humours into one mass.—Lat. abscedere, to go away; pp. abscessus.—Lat. abs, away; and cedere, to go.  See Cede.

47. ABSCIND, to cut off. (L.)  Bp. Taylor has the derivative abscission, Sermons, vol. ii. s. 13.  The verb occurs in Johnson's Rambler, no. 90.—Lat. abscindere, to cut off.—Lat. ab, off; and scindere, to cut. Scindere (pt. t. scidi ) is a nasalised form of SKID, to cleave, which appears also in Gk. σχίζειν, Skt. chhid, to cut; Fick, i. 237.  Der. absciss-ion, from the pp. abscissus.

48. ABSCOND, to hide from, go into hiding. (L.)  Blackstone, Comment. b. iv. c. 24.—Lat. abscondere, to hide.—Lat. abs, away; and condere, to lay up, to hide.—Lat. con- = cum, together; and -dere, to put; from ✔DHA, to put, set, place.  See Curtius, i. 316. [†]

49. ABSENT, being away. (L.)  Wyclif, Philip. i. 27. [The sb. absence, which occurs in Chaucer, Kn. Ta. 381, is not directly from the Latin, but through F. absence, which is Lat. absentia.]—Lat. absentem, acc. case of absens, absent, pres. pt. of abesse, to be away.—Lat. ab, away, and sens, being, which is a better division of the word than abs-ens; cf. præ-sens, present.  This Lat. sens, being, is cognate with Skt. sant, being, and Gk. ὤν, ὄντος, being; and even with our E. sooth; see Sooth.—✔AS, to be; whence Lat. est, he is, Skt. asti, he is, Gk. ἔδτι, he is, G. ist, E. is; see Is.  Thus Lat. sens is short for essens.  See Essence.  The Lat. ens  is short for sens.  See Entity.  Der. absence, absent-er, absent-ee.

50. ABSOLUTE, unrestrained, complete. (L.)  Chaucer has absolut;  transl. of Boethius, b. iii. pr.10, l. 2475.—Lat. absolutus, pp. of absoluere, to set free.  See Absolve.

51. ABSOLVE, to set free. (L.)  In Shak. Henry VIII, iii. I. 50.  The sb. absoluciun  is in the Ancren Riwle, p. 346.  The M.E. from of the verb was assoile, taken from the O. French.—Lat. absoluere, to set free.—Lat. ab;  and soluere, to loosen.  See Solve.  Der. absolute, from the pp. absolutus; whence absolut-ion, absolut-ory.

52. ABSORB, to suck up, imbibe. (L.)  Sir T. More has absorpt  as a past participle, Works, p. 267c (R.)—Lat. absorbere, to suck up.—Lat. ab, off, away; and sorbere, to suck up. + Gk. ῥοφέειν, to sup up.—✔SARBH, to sup up; Fick, i. 798; Curtius, i. 368.  Der. absorb-able, absorb-ent;  also absorpt-ion, absorpt-ive, from the pp. absorptus.

53. ABSTAIN, to refrain from. (F.,—L.)  M.E. absteynen;  Wyclif, 1 Tim. iv. 3.  The sb. abstinence occurs in the Ancren Riwle, p. 340.—O.F. abstener  (Roquefort); cf. mod. F. abstenir.—Lat. abstinere, to abstain.—Lat. abs, from; and tenere, to hold.  Cf. Skt. tan, to stretch.—✔TAN, to stretch.  See Tenable.  Der. abstin-ent, abstin-ence, from Lat. abstin-ere; and abstens-ion, from the pp. abstens-us.

From An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, by the Rev. Walter W. Skeat, Litt.D. LL.D. Edin., M.A. Oxon. Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Cambridge. Second Edition, 1883.