• Abscission

    Pronunciation

    • US IPA: /æbˈsɪ.ʃnÌ©/, /æbˈsɪ.Ê’nÌ©/

    Origin

    From Latin abscissiō, from abscindō ("I cut, I tear").

    Noun

    abscission

    (plural abscissions)
    1. The act or process of cutting off.
      • 1859, Jeremy Taylor, The sermons of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor: Complete in one volume, page 286:Not to be cured without the abscission of a member.
    2. (obsolete) The state of being cut off. Attested only in the mid 17th century.
    3. (rhetoric) A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly
    4. (botany) The natural separation of a part at a predetermined location, such as a leaf at the base of the petiole. First attested in the late 19th century.

    Usage notes

    Not to be confused with abscision, which only is defined as the first sense.

    Anagrams

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