absent

Etymology 1

From Middle English absent, from Middle French absent, from Old French ausent, and their source, Latin absens, present participle of absum (“to be away from”), from ab (“away”) + sum (“to be”).

adj

1. (not comparable) Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present; missing.
   Expecting absent friends. 1623, William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well, II-iii
2. (not comparable) Not existing; lacking.
   The part was rudimental or absent.
3. (comparable) Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied.
   What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man. 1746-1747, Chesterfield, Letters to his Son
   For days Ailie had an absent eye and a sad face, and it so fell out that in all that time young Heriotside, who had scarce missed a day, was laid up with a broken arm and never came near her. 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide

noun

1. (with definite article) Something absent, especially absent people collectively; those who were or are not there.
   The Applause he met with exceeds all belief of the Absent. 1772, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin 2001, 30 May
   That very sense of longing, of yearning for the absent, which 'nostalgia' conveys to us now. 1947, Cecil Day Lewis, Poetic Image
2. (obsolete, Scotland) An absentee; a person who is not there.

prep

1. In the absence of; without; except.
   Absent taxes modern governments cannot function.
   If the accused refuse upon demand to pay money or deliver property (absent any excuse or excusing circumstance) which came into his hands as a bailee, such refusal might well constitute some evidence of conversion, with the requisite fraudulent intent required by the statute. 1919, “State vs. Britt, Supreme Court of Missouri, Division 2”, in The Southwestern Reporter, page 427
   the Princess Caroline case […] established that – absent a measurable ‘public interest’ in publication – she was safe from being photographed while out shopping. 2011, David Elstein, London Review of Books, volume 33, number 15
   About 25 percent of Russia’s large farms continue to be unprofitable, and that number would be considerably higher absent government subsidies and assistance programs. 2013, Stephen K. Wegren, “Agriculture”, in Stephen K. Wegren, editor, Return to Putin's Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain, 5th edition, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., page 223
   And the distraction-management software Freedom offers a mode that won’t unlock affected apps absent a telephone-support call. 2019-09-05, Ian Bogost, “I tried to limit my screen time (It didn't go well)”, in The Atlantic
   California cannot promulgate regulations that are inconsistent with US federal laws absent an explicit waiver from the federal government. 2020, Anu Bradford, “8. Is the Brussels Effect Beneficial?”, in The Brussels Effect. How the European Union Rules the World, Oxford University Press, page 258

Etymology 2

From Middle English absenten, from Old French absenter, from Late Latin absentāre (“keep away, be away”).

verb

1. (reflexive) To keep (oneself) away.
   Most of the men are retired, jobless, or have otherwise temporarily absented themselves from the workplace.
   If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined. 1701-1703, Addison, Remarks on Italy
2. (transitive, archaic) To keep (someone) away.
3. (intransitive, obsolete) Stay away; withdraw.
4. (transitive, rare) Leave.