Etymology

abortion

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Today it means: A spontaneous abortion; a miscarriage. Full definition →

First used 16th c.Latin abortiōnem
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromabortiōnem“miscarriage, abortion”
  2. English todayabortion

From Latin abortiōnem (“miscarriage, abortion”), from aborior (“to miscarry”). Equivalent to abort + -ion. Displaced native Old English ǣwyrp (literally “throwing out, rejection”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 16th c. A spontaneous abortion; a miscarriage.
  • from 16th c. An induced abortion.
  • from 16th c. An aborted foetus; an abortus.
  • from 16th c. A misshapen person or thing; a monstrosity.
  • from 17th c. Failure or abandonment of a project, promise, goal etc.
  • from 18th c. Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.