Etymologically
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abstractus

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Forms

abstractus (feminine abstracta, neuter abstractum); first/second-declension adjective[1] Medieval Latin also has a masculine noun abstractus “removal”.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin abstrahō (“to drag away, withdraw”), its perfect participle used as an adjective.[1][4][3] That verb is a compound of ab- (“away”) and trahō (“to draw”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective meaning abstract, separated from matter, Köbler first finds it in Boethius;[3] Isidore of Seville uses it so too.[1]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is the participle of abstrahō, “dragged away, withdrawn”.[1][4] The adjective, “withdrawn, incorporeal, mental”, belongs to Late Latin philosophy.[3][1] In Thomas Aquinas it is a key term for what is drawn off or separated, in the ontological, psychological, epistemological and mystical senses, a synonym of absolutus and separatus, in phrases such as forma abstracta and linea abstracta.[6]

In British accounts a noun abstractus meant the removal or taking out of something, such as honey.[2][3] English took the adjective over as abstract in the late 14th century, first in grammar, and in the philosophical sense from the mid-15th.[5]

Timeline

  • 1st quarter of 6th century AD – Boethius uses it as an adjective, “abstract”.[3]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it in the same sense.[1][3]
  • c. 1250 – The noun abstractus “removal” is recorded.[3]
  • late 14th century – Borrowed into English as abstract.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (participle) Dragged away, withdrawn, removed.[1][4]
  2. (Late Latin, philosophy) Abstract, incorporeal; separated in thought from matter.[1][3][6]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) Removal, taking out.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  2. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh