abortio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [aˈbɔr.ti.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈbɔr.t͡si.o]^[1]

Forms

abortiō f (genitive abortiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from aborior “to pass away; to miscarry” with the suffix -tiō, from ab- and orior “to rise, be born”.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus' Truculentus.^[2][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a miscarriage, and the procuring of a miscarriage, an abortion, as in Plautus, Cicero's Pro Cluentio and the Digest.^[2][6][4]

It gave English abortion in the 1540s, “the expulsion of the fetus before it is viable”, of deliberate and unintended miscarriages alike.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[4][5]
• 1540s – English abortion is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A miscarriage; an abortion.^[2]

Related words

• aborior
• abortus
• orior
• English abortion

Usage notes

A Late Latin verb abortiō “to miscarry” is found in the Vulgate.^[6][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press