amputate

Etymology

From Latin amputō (“prune, cut away”). The original sense of pruning (a tree, etc.) became obsolete. The OED considers uses related to anything other than an animal limb to be figurative uses of the modern sense.

verb

  1. (obsolete) To cut off, to prune. [17th–18th c.]
  2. To surgically remove a part of the body, especially a limb. [from 17th c.]

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