Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word abate. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word abate, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say abate in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word abate you have here. The definition of the word abate will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofabate, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
detailed etymology, sense derivation, and cognates
The verb is derived from Middle Englishabaten(“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”),[1] from Anglo-Normanabater, abatier, abatre, abbatre, Middle Frenchabattre, abatre, abattre, Old Frenchabatre, 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 Latinabbattere(“to bring down, take down; to suppress; to debase (currency)”), from Latinab-(prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’) + Latinbattere, from older battuere(“to beat, hit; to beat up; to fight”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European*bʰedʰ-(“to dig; to stab”)).[2]
whiche by his goodnes as Marcianus ſaieth, abateth the malice of Saturne. Therfore the Poets faine, that he did put his father out of his kingdome, Iſidore writeth as he abateth the malice of the euill Planets, […]
By the oft removal of a Wild-ſtock, cutting the ends of the Roots, and diſ-branching ſomewhat of the Head at every change of place, it will greatly abate of its natural wildneſs, and in time bring forth more civil and ingenuous Fruit: […]
1670, Izaack Walton [i.e., Izaak Walton], “The Life of Mr George Herbert.”, in George Herbert, edited by Alexander B Grosart, The Complete Works in Verse and Prose of George Herbert. (The Fuller Worthies’ Library), volume III (Prose), London: for private circulation, published 1874, →OCLC, page 36:
And it is to be noted that in the sharpest of his extreme fits he [George Herbert] would often say, 'Lord, abate my great affliction, or increase my patience; but, Lord, I repine not; I am dumb, Lord, before Thee, because Thou doest it.'
In the one period, an hundred and fifty years of peace between the two nations, the habit of being ſubjected to the ſame King, and governed by the ſame maxims, had conſiderably abated old animoſities, and prepared both people for incorporating.
To abate the force of these considerations, an enemy of free discussion may be supposed to say, that there is no necessity for mankind in general to know and understand all that can be said against or for the opinions by philosophers and theologians.
1937, J. C. Murray, “To the Lusty Legume”, in E L Chicanot, editor, Rhymes of the Miner: An Anthology of Canadian Mining Verse, Gardenvale, Que.: Federal Publications, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 181:
O, Blessed Bean! How often have I ate Whole plates of Thee, my hunger to abate! And thou abatedst it, Thou didst indeed, Thou ever over-satisfying feed!
1599, , “Praiers for Svnneday, Containing Laudes, Praises & Thanks-giuing, for the Benefits that God hath Bestowed vpon Vs. ”, in A Manvall of Praiers, Gathered Ovt of Many Famous & Good Authors, as well Auncient, as of the Time Present., Calicè [Calais; actually London: s.n.], →OCLC, pages 77–78:
Thou haſt dominion ouer their power, and when they be exalted & ſet aloft in their waies, thou abateſt their courage, and deſtroyeſt them with thy mighty arme.
And receive into thy heart the instructions that I shall give thee now, and see that thou swerve not from them, nor abatest them a jot; for if thou observest them not, or departest in aught from them, thou wilt bring damnation upon thy soul; […]
[…] Lance, after having made some shew of helping him to his horse, ran back to tell his master the joyful intelligence, that a lucky accident had abated Chiffinch's party to their own number.
1550, Edward Hall, “[The Triumphant Reigne of Kyng Henry the VIII.] The .V. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke, Beyng Long in Continuall Discension for the Croune of this Noble Realme,, London: Rychard Grafton, , →OCLC, folio xxxviij, recto:
[…] the kyng of Scottes […] with all hys hoſte and power entered into Englande (and threw doune pyles) the .xxij. daye of August, and planted hys ſiege before the Caſtell of Norham, and ſore abated the walles.
Wherefore you ſhall obſerue that the more deepe, and ſober ſort of Politique perſons, in their Greatneſſe, are euer bemoaning themſelues, what a Life they lead; Chanting a Quanta patimur. Not that they feele it ſo, but onely to abate the Edge of Enuy.
[…] the law allows an extrajudicial remedy, yet that does not exclude the ordinary courſe of juſtice: […] I may either abate a nuſance by my own authority, or call upon the law to do it for me: […]
[…] when I talk'd of a lodging I had heard of, nearer my business, for two shillings a week, which, intent as I now was on saving money, made some difference, she bid me not think of it, for she would abate me two shillings a week for the future; so I remained with her at one shilling and sixpence as long as I staid in London.
He is honoured amonge theym that be honoured, that fortune abateth without faute: and he is shamed amonge theym that be shamed, that fortune inhanceth without merite.
1618, Sir Walter Raleigh, “Maxims of State”, in Remains of Sir Walter Raleigh, published 1669, page 27:
Rules and axioms for preserving of a Kingdom.[…]If any great person to be abated, not to deal with him by calumniation or forged matter[…]
1653, Jeremy Taylor, “Twenty-five Sermons Preached at Golden Grove; Being for the Winter Half-year,: Sermon IX. The faith and patience of the saints; or, the righteous cause oppressed.”, in Reginald Heber, editor, The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.D., volume V, London: Ogle, Duncan, and Co.; and Richard Priestley,, published 1822, →OCLC, page 523:
So long as the world lived by sense, and discourses of natural reason, as they were abated with human infirmities, and not at all heightened by the Spirit and divine revelation[…]
1655, Thomas Fuller, “Section III. To the Right Worshipful Sir Richard Shugborough, of Shugborough in Warwickshire.”, in The Church-history of Britain;, London: Iohn Williams, →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI), subsection 30–43 (Pope’s Profit by Sale of Trinkets,), page 54:
Peter-pence succeeded; granted by Ina, king of the West Saxons, to pope Gregory II. anno 626. It was a penny paid for every chimney that smoked in England, which in that hospitable age had few smokeless ones; […] Now, though none can tell what these amounted to, yet conjecture may be made, by descending to such proportions, which no rational man will deny. Allowing nine thousand parishes (abating the odd hundreds) in England and Wales, a hundred houses in every parish, two chimneys in every house, one with another, it ariseth unto a yearly sum of seven thousand five hundred pounds.
She hath abated me of halfe my traine, Lookt blacke vpon me, ſtrooke mee with her tongue Moſt Serpent-like vpon the very heart, […]
1659, Philo-Christianus [pseudonym; William Brough], “A Service of the Pleasures of Piety, for Sunday or Other Day. ”, in Sacred Principles, Services and Soliloquies: Or, A Manual of Devotions Made Up of Three Parts:, 4th edition, London: J G for John Clark,, →OCLC, page 260:
But O Saint! be not thou an Epicure! If delight draw thy heart, thou loſeſt ſo much in delectation, as Religion; and abateſt thy Soul ſo much of Solace, as God of Service!
[…]Plini writeth, that the crueltie of the Ramme abateth, if he bee perced in the horne neare vnto the eare. For the chiefeſt parte of his ſtrength, is in his hedd, where he is well armed to fighte.
When Winter's rage abates, when chearful Hours Awake the Spring, and Spring awakes the Flow'rs, On the green Turf thy careleſs Limbs diſplay, And celebrate the mighty Mother's day.
The third Day in the Morning, the Wind having abated over Night, the Sea was calm, and I ventur'd; but I am a warning Piece again to all raſh and ignorant Pilots; for no ſooner was I come to the Point, when even I was not my Boat's Length from the Shore, but I found my ſelf in a great Depth of Water, and a Current like the Sluice of a Mill: […]
1785, “CODS”, in The Sportsman’s Dictionary; or, The Gentleman’s Companion: For Town and Country., 3rd edition, London: G. G J and J Robinson,, →OCLC, column 2:
CODS, or Stones swelled; a malady in horſes that comes in many ways, […] For the cure, take bole armoniac reduced to a fine powder, vinegar and whites of eggs well beaten together, and anoint the part with it daily, till the ſwelling abates: […]
[…] during the eighteen years which had elapsed since the Restoration, the hatred of Puritanism had abated, and the hatred of Popery had increased.
2022 October 7, Emma Goldberg, “The Job Market Has Been Like Musical Chairs. Will the Music Stop?”, in The New York Times:
Counselors who support young job seekers have noticed their optimism abating. Rebecca Cassidy, who works at Georgetown University’s career center, was surprised by the relaxed attitude that students seemed to adopt toward their job searches last year.
[…] the same greatness of wealth is for the most part not collected and obtained without sucking it from many, according to the received similitude of the spleen, which never swelleth but when the rest of the body pineth and abateth.
Whether fagged by the three days' running chase, and the resistance to his swimming in the knotted hamper he bore; or whether it was some latent deceitfulness and malice in him: whichever was true, the White Whale's way now began to abate, as it seemed, from the boat so rapidly nearing him once more; though indeed the whale's last start had not been so long a one as before.
And in the caſe of a deficiency of aſſets, all the general legacies muſt abate proportionably, in order to pay the debts; but a ſpecific legacy (of a piece of plate, a horſe, or the like) is not to abate at all, or allow any thing by way of abatement, unleſs there be not ſufficient without it.
1550, Edward Hall, “[The Triumphant Reigne of Kyng Henry the VIII.] The .XVI. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke, Beyng Long in Continuall Discension for the Croune of this Noble Realme,, London: Rychard Grafton, , →OCLC, folio cxxxiij, verso:
The third ſhild yelow, ſignifying the Barriers, and he that toucheth that ſhilde ſhalbee anſwered twelve ſtrokes at the Barriers, wyth the ſworde, edge and poynt abated.
1680, Edward Coke, “Where a Writ shall be Brought by Journeys Accompts. Hill. 45 Eliz. Rot. 36. in the Common Pleas. Spencer’s Case.”, in The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Kt., 2nd edition, London: H. Twyford,, →OCLC, part VI, page 375:
But where the Writ abateth for default of the Clerk, as where it abateth for falſe Latin, or variance, or want of form, there the defendant ſhall have the benefit of a new Writ by Journeys Accompts, becauſe it was the fault of the Clerk of the Chancery, and not the fault of the defendant himſelf, […]
1778, Matthew Bacon [i.e., Mathew Bacon], “Error”, in A New Abridgement of the Law., 4th edition, London: W Strahan and M. Woodfall,; for C. Bathurst,, →OCLC, section G (Of the Proceedings after the Record Removed, and herein of the Abatement of the Writ of Error), page 209:
If a Writ of Error abates or diſcontinues by the Act and Default of the Party, a ſecond Writ of Error ſhall be no Superſedeas; otherwiſe if it abates or diſcontinues by the Act of God or the Law.
(chiefly US) Of legal proceedings: to be dismissed or otherwise brought to an end before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits.
[…] in actions ariſing ex contractu, by breach of promiſe and the like, where the right deſcends to the repreſentatives of the plaintiff, and thoſe of the defendant have aſſets to anſwer the demand, though the ſuits ſhall abate by the death of the parties, yet they may be revived againſt or by the executors: being indeed rather actions againſt the property than the perſon, in which the executors now have the ſame intereſt that their teſtator had before.
So then, weighing all things well, and myself severely, I resolved to follow my Mentor's wise counsel; neither arrogating aught, nor abating of just dues; but circulating freely, sociably, and frankly, among the gods, heroes, high-priests, kings, and gentlemen, that made up the principalities of Mardi.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
1681 October 23, William Penn, chapter XIV, in Samuel M Janney, The Life of William Penn: With Selections from His Correspondence and Autobiography, 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., published 1852, →OCLC, page 192:
[Letter to Algernon Sidney dated 13 October 1681 (Julian calendar).] There are many things make a man's life uneasy in the world, which are great abates to the pleasure of living, but scarcely one equal to that of the unkindness or injustice of friends.
That men weigh heavier dead than alive, if experiment hath not failed us, we cannot reaſonably grant. For though the triall hereof cannot ſo well be made on the body of Man, nor will the difference be ſenſible in the abate of ſcruples or dragmes, yet can we not confirm the ſame in leſſer animalls from whence the inference is good; […]
1680, Edward Coke, “Mich. 7 Jacobi. In the Common Pleas. Buckmere’s Case.”, in The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Kt., 2nd edition, London: H. Twyford,, →OCLC, part VI, pages 570–571:
So, if Lands be given to Father and Son, and to the heirs of their two bodies begotten, the remainder over in fee, and afterwards the Father dieth without any Iſſue but the Son, and afterwards the Son dieth without Iſſue, and a Stranger abateth, he in the remainder ſhall have one Formedon in the remainder, although the Eſtate tails were ſeveral, […]
Translations
to enter upon and unlawfully seize land after the owner has died, thus preventing an heir from taking possession of it
Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 , →ISBN), page 2
1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XVIII”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory], lines 118–120; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2nd revised edition, Florence: publ.Le Lettere, 1994:
Io fui abate in San Zeno a Verona sotto lo ’mperio del buon Barbarossa, di cui dolente ancor Milan ragiona.
I was San Zeno's abbot at Verona under the empire of good Barbarossa, of whom a still-sorrowing Milan talks.
abate ir katoļu sieviešu klostera priekšniece ― an abbess is the leader of a Catholic nunnery (lit. women's monastery)
abates ievēlēšana notiek bīskapa vai viņa pilnvarotā pārstāvja klātbūtnē ― the selection of an abbess occurs in the presence of a bishop or of his authorized representative