Etymologically
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abortio

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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]

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