abortion English · revision 6247

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1537|origins=la orior}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|abortio|t=miscarriage, abortion]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) a noun of action from [[m|la|aborior|alt=aborīrī|t=to miscarry, fail, pass away]] (see [[abort]]),^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) which the OED analyses as [[m|la|ab-]], here meaning amiss, and the stem of [[m|la|orior|alt=orīrī|t=to arise, be born]] (see [[origin]]).^(Etymonline) Latin used aborīrī for deaths, miscarriages and sunsets.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The expulsion of a fetus before it can survive, at first of both deliberate and natural miscarriage: about 1537 in MWU, 1547 in the OED, the 1540s in Etymonline.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The product of an untimely birth, or any dwarfed and misshapen thing, is from 1640,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and figuratively a failure of an aim or plan from 1710.^(OED 1989) In biology, the arrested development of an organ is from 1842.^(OED 1989) The deliberate termination of a pregnancy is now the usual sense, and spontaneous loss is generally called [[miscarriage]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1537 – a premature birth.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1640 – a misshapen product.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1710 – a failure.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1842 – in biology.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The deliberate ending of a human [[pregnancy]], usually in its early weeks.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The expulsion of a [[fetus]] before it is able to survive; a miscarriage.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(biology)'' The arrested development of an organ.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something malformed or a complete failure.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[abortifacient]]

+ * [[abortionist]]

+ * [[antiabortion]]

+ * [[postabortion]]

+ * [[pro-abortion]]

+ * [[abortion pill]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[abort]]

+ * [[abortive]]

+ * [[origin]]

+ * [[orient]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}