ablative

The story

1. Latin · derived fromablātīvus“expressing removal”
2. Old French · derived fromablatif“the ablative case”
3. Middle English · inherited fromablative
4. English todayablative

From Middle English ablative, ablatife, ablatyf, ablatif, from Old French ablatif (“the ablative case”), from Latin ablātīvus (“expressing removal”), from ablātus (“taken away”), from auferō (“to take away”). The engineering/nautical sense originates from ablate + -ive.

First known use, by meaning

• First attested from around (1350 to 1470). Applied to one of the cases of the noun in some languages, the fundamental meaning of the case being removal, separation, or taking away, and to a lesser degree, instrument, place, accordance, specifications, price, or measurement.
• Attested from the mid 16ᵗʰ century until the early 18ᵗʰ century. Pertaining to taking away or removing.
• First attested in 1959. Sacrificial, wearing away or being destroyed in order to protect the underlying material, as in ablative paints used for antifouling, or ablative heat shields used to protect spacecraft during reentry. .
• First attested in the mid 20ᵗʰ century. Relating to the removal of a body part, tumor, or organ.
• First attested in the mid 20ᵗʰ century. Relating to the erosion of a land mass; relating to the melting or evaporation of a glacier.
• First attested around 1350 to 1470. The ablative case.
• Mid 20ᵗʰ century. An ablative material.