abstract
/æbˈstɹækt/ab-STRAKT
/æbˈstɹækt/ab-STRAKT
Meaningdrawn away
Common meaning: existing as an idea, not a physical thing
Other meanings: a short summary
- absaway, off (form of ab-)
- tractto pull, dragLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1885 · scan
‘away, off (form of ab-)’ + ‘to pull, drag’ → abstract
Journey through time
- Latinabstractus‘drawn away’source
- Englishabstract‘existing as an idea, not a physical thing’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin trahō ‘to pull, drag’.
Roots
- trahō, trāxī, tractum Latin “to pull, drag”
Related words
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