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ablative

The origin and history of ablative.

Etymology

The word reached English through Middle English ablatif, taken from Old French ablatif, which in turn came from Latin ablātīvus, meaning expressing removal. That Latin word was built on ablātus, taken away, from the verb auferō, to take away. The engineering and rocketry sense arose later within English, formed from ablate plus the suffix -ive.

Origin: Old French

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