attrition

Etymology

15th century, learned borrowing from Latin attritio (“a rubbing against”), from the verb attritus, past participle of atterere (“to wear”), from ad- (“to, towards”) + terere (“to rub”).

noun

1. Grinding down or wearing away by friction.
2. The gradual reduction in a tangible or intangible resource due to causes that are passive and do not involve productive use of the resource.
3. (human resources) A gradual, natural reduction in membership or personnel, as through injury, incapacitation, retirement, resignation, or death.
4. (sciences) The loss of participants during an experiment.
5. (theology) Imperfect contrition or remorse.
6. (dentistry) The wearing of teeth due to their grinding.
7. (linguistics) The loss of a first or second language or a portion of that language.

verb

1. (transitive) To grind or wear down through friction.
   attritioned teeth; attritioned rock
   […] He took her in his arms And kissed her long and wetly, Till, attritioned by her charms, His will collapsed completely. 1989, Shashi Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel, New York: Arcade, Book 9, p. 189
2. (transitive) To reduce the number of (jobs or workers) by not hiring new employees to fill positions that become vacant (often with out).
   […] but the heart of the health services in New York will have to attrition out some 3,000 to 5,000 jobs. 1973, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education, Hearings, page 186
   […] expenses can be cut, by attritioning faculty vacancies […] 1989, Herbert S. White, “The Future of Library and Information Science Education”, in Librarians and the Awakening from Innocence,, Boston: G.K. Hall, page 86
3. (intransitive) To undergo a reduction in number.
   The cohort of one hundred students had attritioned to sixty by the end of secondary school.