English Online Dictionary. What means abortion? What does abortion mean?
English
Etymology
From Latin abortiōnem (“miscarriage, abortion”), from aborior (“to miscarry”). Equivalent to abort + -ion. Displaced native Old English ǣwyrp (literally “throwing out, rejection”).
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/, enPR: əʹbôrshən
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)ʃən
Noun
abortion (countable and uncountable, plural abortions)
- (medicine) The expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus; either naturally as a spontaneous abortion (now usually called a miscarriage), or deliberately as an induced abortion. [from 16th c.]
- (now rare) An aborted foetus; an abortus. [from 16th c.]
- (figurative) A misshapen person or thing; a monstrosity. [from 16th c.]
- (figurative) Failure or abandonment of a project, promise, goal etc. [from 17th c.]
- (biology) Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed. [from 18th c.]
- The cessation of an illness or disease at a very early stage.
Synonyms
- abort (obsolete), abortus
- (induced abortion): aborticide, feticide, foeticide, termination (of pregnancy)
- (act of terminating pregnancy): aborticide, embryoctony, feticide, foeticide, termination (of pregnancy)
- (spontaneous abortion): miscarriage, misbirth
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
Further reading
- abortion on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- boration, orbation, rainboot