attrition

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English attricioun,^[2][3] partly borrowed from Middle French attricion and partly borrowed from Late Latin attrītiō (“a rubbing against”),^[4][5] from attrītus, the past participle of atterō (“to rub against, wear away”),^[3][5][6][7] from ad- (“to, against”) and terō (“to rub”),^[3][5][8] from Proto-Indo-European *terə- (“to rub, turn”).^[3][5] In post-classical Latin the noun meant the rubbing away of skin (4th century) and an imperfect form of contrition (12th century);^[4] the Middle French word, recorded from 1314, meant a crushing of tissue, and in the mid 15th century also friction and repentance.^[4] The OED compares attrizione, atrición and atrició.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In theology, sorrow for sin that falls short of contrition because it comes from fear of punishment rather than love of God: before 1400, in the Clensyng of Mannes Soule.^[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the earliest English sense comes from Scholastic theology.^[3] In early 15th-century surgery the word meant the breaking or crushing of tissue,^[4][2] and in the 16th century the loss of tissue, or anything, by rubbing and wearing away (1543, 1601);^[4][3] Johnson (1755) defined it as "the act of wearing things, by rubbing one against another".^[9] The sense of wearing down an enemy's strength by constant pressure is recorded from 1890 in the OED,^[4] while Etymonline and Barnhart date the military sense, especially in war of attrition, to 1914, the First World War.^[3][6] From this came the reduction of a workforce by retirement and resignation, first in the United States in 1915,^[4] gradual loss of any kind (1924)^[4] and, in linguistics, the loss of a feature or of skill in a language (1935).^[4]

Timeline

• before 1400 – theology, imperfect sorrow for sin.^[4][2]
• before 1425 – surgery, the crushing or breaking of tissue.^[4][6]
• 1543 – loss of tissue by wearing away.^[4]
• 1601 – abrasion; friction between surfaces.^[4]
• 1890 – the wearing down of strength by sustained attack, as in a war of attrition.^[4] Etymonline and Barnhart date the military sense to 1914.^[3][6]
• 1915 – the reduction of a workforce by retirement or resignation, originally American.^[4]
• 1924 – gradual reduction in number or size.^[4]
• 1935 – linguistics, the gradual loss of a language feature or skill.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The gradual weakening of someone or something by constant attack, pressure or harassment: a war of attrition.^[10][11][4]
2. A gradual reduction in numbers, especially of a workforce whose leavers are not replaced: The firm cut its staff by attrition.^[11][4]
3. The wearing away of something by friction; abrasion.^[11][4]
4. (geography) The grinding down of rock particles as they are carried by water, wind or ice.^[11]
5. (theology) Sorrow for sin that comes from fear of punishment rather than love of God, falling short of contrition.^[11][4][12]

Word family

• attritional
• interattrition
• attrit
• attrite

Related words

• contrition
• trite
• detriment

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press