abstract

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæbˌstɹækt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin abstractus (“drawn away”), the past participle of abstrahere (“to drag away, detach, divert”),^[2][3][4] from abs (“away”) and trahere (“to draw”) (see tract).^[3][5][6] MWU gives Medieval Latin abstractus, removed, incorporeal, for the adjective.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Originally in grammar, of nouns that do not name concrete things: the late 14th century in Etymonline, before 1398 in Barnhart.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Difficult to understand, abstruse, is from about 1400, and in philosophy, separated from material objects or practical matters, as opposed to concrete, from the mid-15th century.^[3] The noun, a summary of a document, is from the mid-15th century.^[3][7] The verb, to draw away or remove, is from the 1540s, and to consider as a general idea from the 1610s.^[3] Withdrawn from present objects, absent-minded, is from 1509.^[8] In the fine arts, non-representational, it is by 1914, though used of music without words since 1847;^[3] Word Origins dates the art sense to the mid-19th century.^[5] Abstract expressionism, exemplified by Jackson Pollock, is from 1952.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1398 – an abstract noun.^[2]
• c. 1400 – abstruse.^[3]
• mid-15th century – philosophical; a summary.^[3]
• 1540s – to remove (verb).^[3]
• 1914 – non-representational art.^[3]
• 1952 – abstract expressionism.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical existence.
2. Dealing with ideas rather than events; theoretical.
3. (art) Not attempting to represent external reality, but using shapes, colours and textures.

Noun

1. A summary of the contents of a book, article or speech.
2. An abstract work of art.

Verb

1. To consider something theoretically or separately from something else.
2. To remove or take away.
3. To make a written summary of.

Word family

• abstracter
• abstractly
• abstractness
• abstractable
• nonabstract
• overabstract
• semiabstract
• superabstract

Related words

• abstraction
• abstractive
• tract
• attract
• distract
• extract
• subtract

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press