Abduction

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /É™bˈdÊŒk.ʃnÌ©/
• US IPA: /æbˈdÊŒk.ʃnÌ©/, /æbˈdÉ™k.ʃnÌ©/, /É™bˈdÉ™k.ʃnÌ©/

Origin

From Latin abductiō ("robbing; abduction"), from abdūcō ("take or lead away"), from ab ("away") + dūcō ("to lead")

CDOE|page=2

.

• (physiology) From French, from Latin abductus.
• Compare French abduction.

Full definition of abduction

Noun

1. Leading away; a carrying away. Early 17^th century.

1. (physiology) The act of abducing or abducting; a drawing apart; the movement which separates a limb or other part from the axis, or middle line, of the body. Mid 17^th century.
2. (logic) A syllogism or form of argument in which the major premise is evident, but the minor is only probable. Late 17^th century.
• 2005, Ronnie Cann, Ruth Kempson, Lutz Marten, The Dynamics of Language, an Introduction, page 256:The significance of such a step is that it is not morphologically triggered: it is a step of abduction, and what is required here is a meta-level process of reasoning.
3. The wrongful, and usually forcible, carrying off of a human being. Mid 18^th century.the abduction of a child

Usage notes

In Gregg shorthand (version: Gregg_Shorthand#Centennial_Gregg_Shorthand, , , , , ) the word is represented: a - b - d - u - k - sh

Synonyms

• (legal, carrying off of human being) kidnapping
• (logic) retroduction
• (determining most plausible explanation) retroduction

Antonyms

• (physiology) adduction

Derived terms

• alien abduction

Related terms

• abduce