abate
verb
- to decrease, become less strong
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /əˈbeɪt/ / /əˈbeət/
adj
Etymology: Unknown
- In the habit of.
“He's gotten abate o' drinkin'.”
name
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian Abate.
- A surname from Italian.
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian abate (“abbot”), from Latin abbātem, the accusative singular of abbās (“abbot”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), a variant of ἀββᾱ (abbā, “father; title of respect for an abbot”), from Aramaic אַבָּא (’abbā, “father; ancestor; teacher; chief, leader; author, originator”), from Proto-Semitic *ʔabw- (“father”), ultimately imitative of a child’s word for “father”. The English word is a doublet of abbot.
- An Italian abbot or other member of the clergy.
verb
Etymology: From Anglo-Norman abatre, probably an alteration of Anglo-Norman and Middle French embatre, enbatre (“to drive or rush into; to enter into a tenement without permission”) (compare Late Latin abatare), from Middle French, Old French em-, en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + Middle French, Old French batre (“to beat, hit, strike”) (from Latin battere, battuere, the present active infinitive of battuō (“to beat, hit; to beat up; to fight”); see further at etymology 1). The English word was probably also influenced by the verb abate.
- To enter upon and unlawfully seize (land) after the owner has died, thus preventing an heir from taking possession of it.
“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, […]”