abatement
English
Etymology
From Middle English abatement, from Anglo-Norman abatre (“to abate”) (from Old French abatre)[1], + -ment;[2] equivalent to abate + -ment.
Noun
abatement (countable and uncountable, plural abatements)
- The act of abating, or the state of being abated; a lessening, diminution, or reduction; a moderation; removal or putting an end to; the suppression. [First attested from 1340 to 1470.][3][1]
- The abatement of a nuisance is the suppression thereof.
- (law) The action of a person that abates, or without proper authority enters a residence after the death of the owner and before the heir takes possession.[2]
- (law) The reduction of the proceeds of a will, when the debts have not yet been satisfied; the reduction of taxes due.[4][First attested around 1150 to 1350.][3]
- An amount abated; that which is taken away by way of reduction; deduction; decrease; a rebate or discount allowed; in particular from a tax. [Late 15th century.][3]
- (heraldry) A mark of dishonor on an escutcheon; any figure added to the coat of arms tending to lower the dignity or station of the bearer.[2] [Early 17th century.][3]
- (Scotland) Waste of stuff in preparing to size. [5]
Synonyms
- (lessening): assuagement, declension, decline, decrease, deduction, depreciation, diminution, discount, drawback, ebb, evanishment, fading, lessening, lowering, mitigation, moderation, reduction, remission, settling, sinking, subsidence, waning. See also Thesaurus:diminution
- (in tax): allowance, rebate, remission
Antonyms
- (lessening): accession, accretion, aggrandizement, augmentation, development, dilation, enlargement, growth, increase, increment,
Translations
the act of abating or the state of being abated
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References
- Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 2
- Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN)
- Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abatement”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 2.
- Laurence Urdang (editor), The Random House College Dictionary (Random House, 1984 [1975], →ISBN), page 1
- “abatement, n.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Further reading
Abatement in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)- The Manual of Heraldry, Fifth Edition, by Anonymous, London, 1862, online at
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