Etymologically
Log in

abrado

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word abrado

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Ultimate origin
Proto-Italic (*rasd-e/o-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin rado
Latin rastrum
Latin abrado
Latin erado

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [abˈraː.doː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [abˈraː.do][1]

Forms

abrādō (present infinitive abrādere, perfect active abrāsī, supine abrāsum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ab- (“away”) + rādō (“to scrape, shave”).[2][1] De Vaan derives rādō from Proto-Italic *rasd-e/o-, and notes that the family is found only in Italic and Celtic, so a PIE origin is uncertain.[3] Cognate with Welsh rhathu and Breton rahein, “to scrape, shave”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Terence,[3] who uses it of getting money out of someone: in the Phormio people are in danger wherever “something can be scraped off” them (unde aliquid abradi potest).[2]

Semantic evolution

Its literal senses are to scrape or rub off, as in Lucretius and in Columella of roots;[4][2] to wash away by erosion, as Seneca says the Nile does not;[2] to scrape clean; and to shave, as Cicero's eyebrows “shaved right off” (supercilia penitus abrasa).[2][4] Lucan also uses it of injuring by scraping.[2]

Medieval writers used it for scraping writing off a page, erasing a name in a charter, and for shaving and mowing, and figuratively for killing, robbing and depriving.[5] Stelten's Ecclesiastical Latin glosses are “rub off, take away, erase”.[6] English took abrase from its participle stem in the 1590s and abrade in the 1670s.[7]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of getting something out of a person.[2][3][8]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of scraping something off the body.[4][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of eyebrows shaved off.[2][8]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of scraping roots.[2][8]
  • 1590s – English abrase.[7]
  • 1670s – English abrade.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To scrape or rub off, wipe away; to wash away by erosion; to scrape clean.[2][4]
  2. To shave, shave off.[2][4]
  3. To injure by scraping, abrade.[2]
  4. (figurative) To get (something) out of a person, “knock off”.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) To erase (writing).[5][6]

Word family

  • abrāsiō
  • abrāsus
  • English abrade

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Abrado.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/abrado. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·