abortion

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)

2. (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.]
3. (now rare) An aborted foetus; an abortus. [from 16th c.]
4. (figuratively) A misshapen person or thing; a monstrosity. [from 16th c.]
5. (figuratively) Failure or abandonment of a project, promise, goal etc. [from 17th c.]
6. (biology) Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed. [from 18th c.]
7. 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