abate

Etymology 1

From Middle English abaten, from Anglo-Norman abatre, from Late Latin abbattere, from Latin battere. detailed etymology, sense derivation, and cognates The verb is derived from Middle English abaten (“to demolish, knock down; to defeat, strike down; to strike or take down (a sail); to throw down; to bow dejectedly or submissively; to be dejected; to stop; to defeat, humiliate; to repeal (a law); to dismiss or quash (a lawsuit); to lessen, reduce; to injure, impair; to appease; to decline, grow less; to deduct, subtract; to make one’s way; attack (an enemy); (law) to enter or intrude upon (someone’s property); of a hawk: to beat or flap the wings”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman abater, abatier, abatre, abbatre, Middle French abattre, abatre, abattre, Old French abatre, abattre (“to demolish, knock down; to bring down, cut down; to lessen, reduce; to suppress; to stop; to discourage; to impoverish, ruin; to conquer; to overthrow; to kill; to remove (money) from circulation; (law) to annul”), from Late Latin abbattere (“to bring down, take down; to suppress; to debase (currency)”), from Latin ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’) + Latin battere, from older battuere (“to beat, hit; to beat up; to fight”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to dig; to stab”)). The noun is derived from the verb.

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate.
      [Jupiter] whiche by his goodnes as Marcianus ſaieth, abateth the malice of Saturne. Therfore the Poets faine, that he did put his father out of his kingdome, Iſidore writeth as he abateth the malice of the euill Planets, […] 1576, Gerard Legh, “Azure”, in The Accedens of Armory, London: […] Richard Tottel, →OCLC, folios 6, verso – 7, recto
      Abate thy rage ſweete knight, Abate thy rage. These lines do not appear in the version of the play published in the First Folio (1623). 1599, [William Shakespeare], The Cronicle History of Henry the Fift,[…] (First Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Tho[mas] Millington, and Iohn Busby,[…], published 1600, →OCLC
      O, Blessed Bean! How often have I ate Whole plates of Thee, my hunger to abate! And thou abatedst it, Thou didst indeed, Thou ever over-satisfying feed! 1937, J. C. Murray, “To the Lusty Legume”, in E[ugene] L[ouis] Chicanot, editor, Rhymes of the Miner: An Anthology of Canadian Mining Verse, Gardenvale, Que.: Federal Publications, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 181
   2. To reduce (something) in amount or size.
      Thou haſt dominion ouer their power, and when they be exalted & ſet aloft in their waies, thou abateſt their courage, and deſtroyeſt them with thy mighty arme. 1599, [George Flinton, compiler and transl.], “Praiers for Svnneday, Containing Laudes, Praises & Thanks-giuing, for the Benefits that God hath Bestowed vpon Vs. [A Psalme in which the Goodnesse of God is Praised.]”, in A Manvall of Praiers, Gathered Ovt of Many Famous & Good Authors, as well Auncient, as of the Time Present.[…], Calicè [Calais; actually London: s.n.], →OCLC, pages 77–78
      1. To cut away or hammer down (material from metalwork, a sculpture, etc.) in such a way as to leave a figure in relief.
   3. To lower (something) in price or value.
   4. (archaic)
      1. To demolish or level to the ground (a building or other structure).
      2. To give no consideration to (something); to treat as an exception.
      3. (chiefly figurative) To dull (an edge, point, etc.); to blunt.
   5. (law)
      1. To make (a writ or other legal document) void; to nullify.
         to abate a writ
      2. To put an end to (a nuisance).
         She was ordered by the court to abate the nuisance.
      3. (chiefly US) To dismiss or otherwise bring to an end (legal proceedings) before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits.
   6. (obsolete)
      1. To curtail or end (something); to cause to cease.
         To order restrictions to abate an emergency.
      2. To give (someone) a discount or rebate; also, to relieve (someone) of a debt.
      3. To bring down (someone) mentally or physically; to lower (someone) in status.
         He is honoured amonge theym that be honoured, that fortune abateth without faute: and he is shamed amonge theym that be shamed, that fortune inhanceth without merite. 1534, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius, page 132
         Rules and axioms for preserving of a Kingdom.[…]If any great person to be abated, not to deal with him by calumniation or forged matter[…] 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh, “Maxims of State”, in Remains of Sir Walter Raleigh, published 1669, page 27
      4. Chiefly followed by from, of, etc.: to omit or remove (a part from a whole); to deduct, to subtract.
         We will abate this price from the total.
      5. Chiefly followed by of: to deprive (someone or something of another thing).
         But O Saint! be not thou an Epicure! If delight draw thy heart, thou loſeſt ſo much in delectation, as Religion; and abateſt thy Soul ſo much of Solace, as God of Service! 1659, Philo-Christianus [pseudonym; William Brough], “A Service of the Pleasures of Piety, for Sunday or Other Day. [A Meditation of the Pleasures of Piety.]”, in Sacred Principles, Services and Soliloquies: Or, A Manual of Devotions Made Up of Three Parts:[…], 4th edition, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond] for John Clark,[…], →OCLC, page 260
2. (intransitive)
   1. To decrease in force or intensity; to subside.
      […] Plini writeth, that the crueltie of the Ramme abateth, if he bee perced in the horne neare vnto the eare. For the chiefeſt parte of his ſtrength, is in his hedd, where he is well armed to fighte. 1576, Gerard Legh, The Accedens of Armory, London: […] Richard Tottel, →OCLC, folio 53, verso
      CODS, or Stones swelled; a malady in horſes that comes in many ways, […] For the cure, take bole armoniac reduced to a fine powder, vinegar and whites of eggs well beaten together, and anoint the part with it daily, till the ſwelling abates: […] 1785, “CODS”, in The Sportsman’s Dictionary; or, The Gentleman’s Companion: For Town and Country.[…], 3rd edition, London: […] G. G[eorge] J[ohn] and J[ames] Robinson,[…], →OCLC, column 2
      Counselors who support young job seekers have noticed their optimism abating. Rebecca Cassidy, who works at Georgetown University’s career center, was surprised by the relaxed attitude that students seemed to adopt toward their job searches last year. 2022-10-07, Emma Goldberg, “The Job Market Has Been Like Musical Chairs. Will the Music Stop?”, in The New York Times
   2. To decrease in amount or size.
   3. To lower in price or value; (law) specifically, of a bequest in a will: to lower in value because the testator's estate is insufficient to satisfy all the bequests in full.
      Bequests and legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets.
   4. (archaic, chiefly figurative) Of an edge, point, etc.: to become blunt or dull.
   5. (law)
      1. (chiefly historical) Of a writ or other legal document: to become null and void; to cease to have effect.
         The writ has abated.
         But where the Writ abateth for default of the Clerk, as where it abateth for falſe Latin, or variance, or want of form, there the defendant ſhall have the benefit of a new Writ by Journeys Accompts, becauſe it was the fault of the Clerk of the Chancery, and not the fault of the defendant himſelf, […] 1680, Edward Coke, “Where a Writ shall be Brought by Journeys Accompts. Hill. 45 Eliz. Rot. 36. in the Common Pleas. Spencer’s Case.”, in The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Kt.[…], 2nd edition, London: […] H. Twyford,[…], →OCLC, part VI, page 375
         If a Writ of Error abates or diſcontinues by the Act and Default of the Party, a ſecond Writ of Error ſhall be no Superſedeas; otherwiſe if it abates or diſcontinues by the Act of God or the Law. 1778, Matthew Bacon [i.e., Mathew Bacon], “Error”, in A New Abridgement of the Law.[…], 4th edition, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan and M. Woodfall,[…]; for C. Bathurst,[…], →OCLC, section G (Of the Proceedings after the Record Removed, and herein of the Abatement of the Writ of Error), page 209
      2. (chiefly US) Of legal proceedings: to be dismissed or otherwise brought to an end before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits.
   6. (obsolete)
      1. To give a discount or rebate; to discount, to rebate.
      2. To bow down; hence, to be abased or humbled.
      3. Chiefly followed by of: to deduct or subtract from.

noun

1. (uncountable) Abatement; reduction; (countable) an instance of this.
   [Letter to Algernon Sidney dated 13 October 1681 (Julian calendar).] There are many things make a man's life uneasy in the world, which are great abates to the pleasure of living, but scarcely one equal to that of the unkindness or injustice of friends. 23 October 1681, William Penn, chapter XIV, in Samuel M[acpherson] Janney, The Life of William Penn: With Selections from His Correspondence and Autobiography, 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., published 1852, →OCLC, page 192
2. (uncountable) Deduction; subtraction; (countable) an instance of this.

Etymology 2

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.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive, law, chiefly historical) 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, […] 1680, Edward Coke, “Mich. 7 Jacobi. In the Common Pleas. Buckmere’s Case.”, in The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Kt.[…], 2nd edition, London: […] H. Twyford,[…], →OCLC, part VI, pages 570–571

Etymology 3

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.

noun

1. An Italian abbot or other member of the clergy.