abateabate

The story

The verb is derived from Middle English abaten (‘to demolish, knock down; to defeat, strike down; to strike or take down (a sail); to throw down; to bow dejectedly or submissively; to be dejected; to stop; to defeat, humiliate; to repeal (a law); to dismiss or quash (a lawsuit); to lessen, reduce; to injure, impair; to appease; to decline, grow less; to deduct, subtract; to make one’s way; attack (an enemy); (law) to enter or intrude upon (someone’s property); of a hawk: to beat or flap the wings’) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman abater, abatier, abatre, abbatre, Middle French abattre, abatre, abattre, Old French abatre, abattre (‘to demolish, knock down; to bring down, cut down; to lessen, reduce; to suppress; to stop; to discourage; to impoverish, ruin; to conquer; to overthrow; to kill; to remove (money) from circulation; (law) to annul’), from Late Latin abbattere (‘to bring down, take down; to suppress; to debase (currency)’), from Latin ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’) + Latin battere, from older battuere (‘to beat, hit; to beat up; to fight’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (‘to dig; to stab’)).