abjection

English

Etymology

From Middle English abjeccioun, from either Middle French abjection or Late Latin abjection-, abiectiō, from abjectus (“cast down”).[1][2]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /æbˈd͡ʒɛk.ʃn̩/

Noun

abjection (countable and uncountable, plural abjections)

  1. A low or downcast condition; meanness of spirit; abasement; degradation. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).][2]
    an abjection from the beatific regions where God, and his angels and saints, dwell forever
  2. (obsolete, chiefly figuratively) Something cast off; garbage. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 16th century.][2]
  3. (obsolete) The act of bringing down or humbling; casting down. [Attested from the early 16th century until the mid 17th century.][2]
    "The abjection of the king and his realm."
  4. (obsolete) The act of casting off; rejection. [Attested from the early 17th century until the mid 17th century.][2]
  5. (biology, mycology) The act of dispersing or casting off spores.

Translations

References
  1. Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 4
  2. “abjection” in Lesley Brown, editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 5.

French

Etymology

abject +‎ -tion

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ab.ʒɛk.sjɔ̃/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

abjection f (plural abjections)

  1. (literary) Something that is worthy of utter contempt.

Further reading
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