abolete 
aboletet (ab'o-let), <t. [ < L. 'iibnli'tim. pp. 
lescere, decay, < abolere, destroy: see abolixh. ] 
Old; obsolete. 
abolish (a-bol'ish), v. t. [< late ME. uboli/xxltrit, 
< OF. ab'oliw-, extended stem of abolir, < L. 
abolere, destroy, abolish, < nb, from, + "olere, 
in comp., grow.] To do away with ; put an end 
to ; destroy ; efface or obliterate ; annihilate : 
as, to abolish customs or institutions ; to abolish 
slavery ; to rtbolish idols (Isa. ii. 18) ; 
death (2 Tim. i. 10). 
Or wilt thoii thyself 
Abolish thy creation, anil unmake 
HVr him, what for thy glory thou hast made? 
Milton, V. I,., iii. 163. 
Congress can, liy edict, . . . abolish slavery, and pay 
f.,r sui'h sbves ;is -i- ouislit to pay for. 
r'int'1-fion, Misc., p. 285. 
His ((nick, instinctive hand 
Caught at the hilt, as to abolish him. 
Tennyson, Geraint. 
= Svn. To Abolish, Repeal, Rescind, Recall, Revoke, Abro- 
gate, A mini, Cancel, end, destroy, do away with, set aside, 
'nullify, annihilate, quash, vaeate, make void, extirpate, 
eradicate, suppress, uproot, erase, expunge. Abolish is a 
strong word, and signifies a complete removal, generally 
but not always by a summary act. It is the word specially 
used in connection with things that have been long estab- 
lished or deeply rooted, as an institution or a custom : as, 
to abolish slavery or polygamy. Repeal is generally used 
of the formal rescinding of a legislative act. Abrogate, 
to abolish summarily, more often as the act of a ruler, but 
sometimes of a representative body. Annul, literally to 
bring to nothing, to deprive of all force or obligation, as a 
law or contract. Rescind (literally, to cut short) is coex- 
tensive in meaning with both repeal and annul. Recall, 
revoke (see renounce). Cancel is not used of laws, but 
of deeds, bonds, contracts, etc., and figuratively of what- 
ever may be thought of as crossed out. [In legal parlance, 
rescind is never applied to a statute ; it is the common ex- 
pression for the act of a party in justly repudiating a con- 
tract. Repeal is never applied to a contract ; it is the 
common expression for the termination of the existence 
of a statute by a later statute. Annul is the common ex- 
pression for the judicial act of a court in terminating the 
existence of any obligation or conveyance. Cancel is used 
when the instrument is obliterated actually or in legal 
contemplation ; the other words when the obligation is 
annihilated irrespective of whether the instrument is left 
intact or not.) 
I have never doubted the constitutional authority of 
Congress to abolish slavery in this District [of Columbia]. 
Lincoln, in Raymond, p. 184. 
Leaving out amended acts and enumerating only acts 
entirely repealed, the result is that in the last three 
sessions there have been repealed ... 660 acts belonging 
to the present reign. H. Spencer, Pop. Sci. Mo., XXV. 6. 
The king also rescinded the order by which the Bishop 
of London had been suspended from the exercise of his 
functions. Buckle. 
Whose laws, like those of the Medes and Persians, they 
cannot alter or abrogate. Burke. 
Your promises are sins of iuconsideration at best ; and 
you are bound to repent and annul them. Swift, 
I here forget all former griefs, 
Cancel all grudge. Shak., T. G. of V., v. 4. 
abolishable (a-bol'ish-a-bl). a. [< abolish + 
-able. .Cf. F. abolissable.] Capable of being 
abolished or annulled, as a law, rite, custom, 
etc. ; that may be set aside or destroyed. 
And yet . . . hope is but deferred ; not abolished, not 
abolishable. Carlyle, French Rev., I. ii. 8. 
abolisher (a-bol'ish-er), n. [< abolish + -er 1 .] 
One who or that which abolishes. 
abolishment (a-bol'ish-ment), n. [<abolish + 
-ment. Cf. F. dbolissement.]' The act of abolish- 
ing or of putting an end to ; abrogation ; de- 
struction; abolition. [Now rare.] 
He should think the abolishment of Episcopacy among 
us would prove a mighty scandal. 
Swift, Sent, of a Ch. of Eng. Man. 
abolition (ab-6-lish'ou), n. [< F. abolition, 
< L. abolitio(n-), < abolere, annul, abolish : see 
abolish.] 1. The act of abolishing, or the state 
of being abolished ; annulment ; abrogation ; 
utter destruction: as, the abolition of laws, 
decrees, ordinances, rites, customs, debts, etc. ; 
the abolition of slavery. The most frequent use of 
the word in recent times has been in connection with the 
effort to put an end to the system of slavery, which was 
finally accomplished in the United States in 1865 by the 
thirteenth amendment to the Constitution. 
For the amalgamation of races, and for the abolition of 
villenage, she [Britain) is chiefly indebted to the influence 
which the priesthood in the middle ages exercised over 
the laity. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., i. 
2f. In Inn- : (a) Permission to desist from 
further prosecution. (6) Remission of pun- 
ishment ; condonation. [In the civil, French, and 
German law, abolition is used nearly synonymously with 
pardon, remission, tfrace. Grace is the generic term ; 
pardon, by those laws, is the clemency extended by the 
prince to a participant in crime who is not a principal or 
accomplice ; remission is granted in cases of involuntary 
homicide and self-defense. Abolition is used when the 
crime cannot be remitted. The prince by letters of aboli- 
tion may remit the punishment, but the infamy remains 
unless letters of abolition have been obtained before sen- 
15 
tence has t>een rendered. /Jm/j;j>r.J - Syn. Overthrow, 
annulment, obliteration, extirpation, suppression. 
abolitional (ab-o-lish'on-al), a. Pertaining or 
relating to abolition. 
abolitionary (ab-o-lish'on-a-ri), a. Destructive ; 
abolitional. 
abolitionism (ab-o-Hsh'on-izm), n. [<abt>Htii>n 
+ -ism.'] Belief in the 'principle of abolition, 
as of slavery ; devotion to or advocacy of the 
opinions of abolitionists. 
abolitionist (ab-o-lish'on-ist), n. [< abolition 
+ -ist ; = F. abolitionniste."] A person who 
favors the abolition of some law, institution, 
Or custom. Specifically, one of those who favored 
and sought to effect the abolition of slavery in the United 
States. Before 1830 these persons generally advocated 
gradual and voluntary emancipation. After that time 
many began to insist on immediate abolition, without 
regard to the wishes of the slaveholders. A portion of 
the abolitionists formed the Liberty party, which after- 
ward acted with the Free-soil and Republican parties, and 
finally became merged in the latter. See abolition, 1. 
abolitionize (ab-o-lish'on-iz), v. t. ; pret. and 
pp. abplitionized, ' ppr. abolitionizing. To im- 
bue with the doctrines or principles of aboli- 
tionists. 
abolla (a-bol'a), n. ; pi. abolla; (-e). [L., < Gr. 
a/tfloM/, contracted form of dfa/io/b/, a cloak, 
< avafiaUeiv, throw back, < avd, back, + /3dAten>, 
throw. The Gr. form a/3o/lAa was in turn bor- 
rowed from the Latin.] In Bom. antiq., a loose 
woolen cloak. Its precise form is not known ; it dif- 
fered from the toga, and was worn especially by soldiers ; 
perhaps on this account, it was adopted by Stoic philoso- 
phers, who affected great austerity of life, whence Juve- 
nal's expression f acinus majoris abollc?, a crime of a deep 
philosopher. 
aboma (a-bo'ma), n. [< Pg. aboma.~\ The name 
in Guiana of some very large boa or anaconda of 
the family Pythonidte or Boidai, of the warmer 
parts of America. The species is not determined, and 
the name is probably of general applicability to the huge 
tree-snakes of the American tropics. As a book-name, 
aboma is identified with the Jipicrates cenchris, usually 
misspelled Epicratis cenchria, after the Penny Cyc., 1836. 
This is a species called by Sclater the thick-necked tree- 
boa. A Venezuelan species is known as the brown aboma, 
Epicrates mttnnu. Some such serpent is also called the 
ringed boa, Boa aboma. In any case, the aboma is a near 
relative of the anaconda, Eunectex murinus, and of the 
common boa, Boa constrictor. Compare boa and bom. 
The tamacuilla huilia or aboma appears to be the ser- 
pent worshipped by the ancient Mexicans. It is of gigan- 
tic size. S. 0. Goodrich, Johnson's Nat. Hist., II. 406. 
abomasum (ab-o-ma'sum), .; pi. abomasa 
(-sa). [NL., < L'. ab, from, + omasum.'} The 
fourth or true stomach of ruminating animals, 
lying next to the omasum or third stomach, 
and opening through the pylorus into the duo- 
denum. See cut under ruminant. 
abomasus (ab-o-ma'sus), .; pi. abomasi (-si). 
Same as abomasum. 
abominable (a-bom'i-na-bl), a. [< ME. abomi- 
nable, abhominable, < OF. abominable = Pr. ab- 
homenable = Sp. abominable = Pg. abonmeavel 
= It. abominabilf, < L. abomiiiabilis, deserving 
abhorrence, < abominari, abhor, deprecate as 
an ill omen : see abominate. For the old spell- 
ing abhominable, see that form.] Deserving or 
liable to be abominated; detestable; loath- 
some ; odious to the mind ; offensive to the 
senses. In colloquial language especially, abominable 
often means little more than excessive, extreme, very dis- 
agreeable : as, his self-conceit is abominable. 
This infernal pit 
Abominable, accursed, the house of woe. 
Milton, P. L., x. 464. 
The captain was convicted of the murder of a cabin-boy, 
after a long course of abominable ill-treatment. 
H. N. Oxenham, Short Studies, p. 54. 
=Syn. Execrable, Horrible, etc. (see nefarious), detest- 
able, loathsome, hateful, shocking, horrid, revolting, in- 
tolerable. See list under detestable. 
abominableness (a-bom'i-na-bl-nes), n. The 
quality or state of being abominable, detest- 
able, or odious. 
abominably (a-bom'i-na-bli), adv. In an abomi- 
nable manner or degree ; execrably ; detestably ; 
sinfully. Sometimes equivalent in colloquial speech to 
excessively or disagreeably : as, he is abominably vain. 
abominate (a-bom'i-nat), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
abominated, ppr. abominating. [< L. abomina- 
tus, pp. of abominari, abhor, deprecate as an 
ill omen, < ab, from, + omindri, regard as an 
omen, forebode, < omen (omin-), an omen : see 
omen.] To hate extremely ; abhor ; detest. 
You will abominate the use of all unfair arts. 
C. Mather, Essays to Do Good. 
= Syn. Abhor, Detest, etc. See hate. 
abominate (a-bom'i-nat), a. [< L. abominatus, 
pp. : see above.] Detested ; held in abomi- 
nation. 
abomination (a-bom-i-na'shon), n. [<ME. 
abominacion, dbhominatioun, abhominacyon, < 
Who have uothinu' in sn 
hold for heretics. 
aboriginal 
OF. HlMHHIIIilriOH, < L. lllliiiHilKltllt(ll-), < III" 
iniri, abhor: set' iiboiiiiimtr, .] 1. The act of 
abominating or the state of being abominated ; 
the highest degree of aversion ; detestation. 
/iit,, t ,,;,iti,n, as those they 
*" (rt 
2. That which is abominated or abominable ; 
an object greatly disliked or abhorred ; hence, 
hateful or shameful vice. 
Every shepherd is an abi,nmit<"i> unto the Egyptians. 
Gen. xlvi. 34. 
Ashtoreth, the <th<:,,,nition of the Zidomans. 
2 Ki. xxiii. IX. 
The adulterous Antony, most large 
In his abominations. Shak., A. and ('., iii. 6. 
3. Iii the Bible, often, that which is ceremo- 
nially impure ; ceremonial impurity ; defile- 
ment ; that which defiles. = Syn. 1. Detestation, 
loathing, disgust, abhorrence, repugnance, horror, aver- 
sion. 2. Filthiness, foulness, impurity, grossness. 
abominator (a-bom'i-na-tor), re. One who 
abominates or detests. 
abominet (a-bom'in), v. t. [<F. aba/miner, < L. 
abominari : see abominate, v.} To abominate : 
as, " I abomine 'em," Ifirift. 
aboon (a-bon'), prep, and adr. [8c., also abune, 
< ME. abuven : see above.} Above. [North. 
English and Scotch.] 
And thou shalt bathe thee in the stream 
That rolls its whitening foam aboon. 
J. R. Drake, Culprit Fay, xxxii. 
aborad (ab-6'rad), adv. [< ab- + orad. Cf. ab- 
oral.] In anat., away from the mouth : the op- 
posite of orad. 
Thacher has employed orad both as adjective and ad- 
verb, but the correlative aborad, which might have been 
expected, has not been observed by us in his papers. 
Wilder and Gaoe, Anat. Tech., p. 23. 
aboral (ab-6'ral), a. [< L. ab, from, + os (or-), 
mouth: see oral.] In anat., pertaining to or 
situated at the opposite extremity from the 
mouth : opposed to adoral. 
If we imagine the Astrophyton with its mouth turned 
upward and its amis brought near together, and the 
aboral region furnished with a long, jointed, and flexible 
stem, we shall have a form not very unlike the Pentaeri- 
nus caput-medusse of the West Indies. 
POJI. Sci. Mo., XIII. 324. 
aborally (ab-6'ral-i), adv. In an aboral man- 
ner or place ; at, near, or in the direction of 
the aboral end ; aborad : as, situated aborally. 
abord j t (a-bord'), n. [Same as aboard?, q. v. : 
see also border.] 1. Arrival; approach. 2. 
Manner of accosting ; address ; salutation. 
Your abord, I must tell you, was too cold and uniform. 
Chesterfield. 
abord 1 ! (a-bord'), v. t. [< F. aborder, ap- 
proach : see aboard?.] To approach ; accost. 
abord 2 t (a-bord'), adv. At a loss. [Rare.] 
Used in the'following extract probably for abroad, in the 
sense of adrift. 
That how t' acquit themselves unto the Lord 
They were in doubt, and flatly set abord. 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, I. 324. 
abordage (a-b&r'daj), . [F., < aborder, board : 
see abord 1 .} 1. The act of boarding a vessel, 
as in a sea-fight. 2. A collision. See fall 
aboard of, under aboard*. 
aborigen, aborigin (ab-or'i-jen, -jin), . [Sing., 
from L. pi. aborigines.} Same as aborigine. 
[Rare.] 
aboriginal (ab-o-rij'i-nal), a. and n. [< L. pi. 
aborigines, the first inhabitants ; specifically, the 
primeval Romans : see aborigines. Cf. original, 
and L. aborigineus, aboriginal.] I. . 1. Exist- 
ing from the origin or beginning ; hence, first ; 
original ; primitive : as, aboriginal people are 
the first inhabitants of a country known to 
history. 
It was soon made manifest . . . that a people inferior 
to none existing in the world had been formed by the 
mixture of three branches of the great Teutonic family 
with each other, and with the aboriginal Britons. 
Macaulay. 
2. Pertaining to aborigines; hence, primitive ; 
simple ; unsophisticated : as, aboriginal cus- 
toms ; aboriginal apathy. 
There are doubtless many aboriginal minds by which no 
other conclusion is conceivable. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Psychol. 
3. In geol. and hot., native ; indigenous ; au- 
tochthonous. = Syn. Indigenous, etc. See orii/mnl. 
See also primary. 
II. n. 1. An original inhabitant ; one of the 
people living in a country at the period of the 
earliest historical knowledge of it ; an autoch- 
thon. 2. A species of animals or plants which 
originated within a given area. 
It may well be doubted whether this frog is an aborigi- 
nal f these islands. Dartrin, Voyage of Beagle, xvii. 
