English
abstract
Abstract comes from Latin abstractus ‘drawn away from, having been drawn away from’, and goes back to trahō ‘to pull, draw’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘to pull, draw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrahō‘draw away’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstractus‘drawn away from, having been drawn away from’perfect passive participle of abstrahō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abstract‘having been above the ground’
- Englishearliest quotation 1601same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘to pull, draw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrahō‘draw away’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstractus‘drawn away from, having been drawn away from’perfect passive participle of abstrahō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abstract‘having been above the ground’
- Englishearliest quotation 1601same form
Earliest quotation: 1601, John Marston, Antonio's Revenge: “Poison from roses who could e'er abstract?”
first attested The verbal sense is first attested in 1542 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
The verbal sense is first attested in 1542.
Linked words
through Latin trahō ‘to pull, draw’
treat, contract, attractive, portrait, attraction, extract, trait, traction, tractor, tram, distract, retract, trattoria, tractable, 34 more
Today it means
noun An abridgement or summary of a longer publication.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin trahō / abstract