abscission
English
Etymology
From Latin abscissiō, from abscindō (“I cut, I tear”).
Pronunciation
Noun
abscission (plural abscissions)
- The act or process of cutting off.
- 1859, Jeremy Taylor, The sermons of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor: Complete in one volume, page 286:
- Not to be cured without the abscission of a member.
- 1859, Jeremy Taylor, The sermons of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor: Complete in one volume, page 286:
- (obsolete) The state of being cut off. [Attested only in the mid 17th century.]
- (rhetoric) A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly
- (botany) The natural separation of a part at a predetermined location, such as a leaf at the base of the petiole. [First attested in the late 19th century.]
Usage notes
Not to be confused with abscision, which only is defined as the first sense.