English
abstractive
Abstractive comes from Latin abstractus ‘drawn away’, and goes back to trahō ‘drag, haul’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘drag, haul’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrahō‘draw away from’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstractus‘drawn away’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500abstractivus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abstractif‘denoting a quality or state that is not concrete’
- Englishtodayabstractive
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘drag, haul’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrahō‘draw away from’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstractus‘drawn away’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500abstractivus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abstractif‘denoting a quality or state that is not concrete’
- Englishtodayabstractive
Formed from abstract + -ive
Latin trahō ‘to pull, draw’
Latin abstrahō ‘draw away’
Latin abstractus ‘drawn away from, having been drawn away from’
Middle English abstract ‘having been above the ground’
English abstract
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- ‘to run, to drag, to pull’
draw, train, draft, drag, retreat, extraction, distraction, draught, contraction, retract, subtraction, entreat, 49 more
through Latin trahō ‘drag, haul’
treat, contract, portrait, attractive, attraction, extract, trait, tractor, tram, traction, tract, trattoria, 36 more
Today it means
adj Having an abstracting nature or tendency; tending to separate; tending to be withdrawn.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin trahō / abstractive