释义 |
aborted, ppl. a.|əˈbɔːtɪd| [f. abort v. + -ed. Cf. mod.Fr. aborté.] 1. Born before its time; hence, imperfect, undeveloped.
1604T. Wright Pass. of Mind, Ep. Ded. [I] could not tell whether to reioyce to see mine aborted infant revived. 2. Biol. Rendered abortive or sterile; reduced to a state of imperfect development, checked in normal development. Applied in Morphology to the rudimentary or imperfect appendages which, in some species, represent the perfect organs of what may be considered the archetype or ancestral form. Thus spines are aborted branches, the breasts of male beings are aborted teats, etc.
1859Darwin Orig. Spec. (1873) v. 116 When this occurs, the adherent nectary is quite aborted. 1867J. Hogg Microsc. ii. i. 324 Thorns, such as those of the rose, are aborted branches. 1870Rolleston An. Life Introd. 109 This rudimentary or aborted condition of the hepatic organ.
Add:3. fig. Brought to a premature or fruitless termination; frustrated, thwarted, abandoned. Cf. abortive a. 2.
1907N.E.D. s.v. Monster sb. and a., Monster-love, a deformed or aborted love. 1924Glasgow Herald 9 Apr. 10/3 Mr Wheatley having apparently availed himself of Mr Simon's bill to construct the second clause of his aborted measure. 1951W. Faulkner Requiem for Nun i. 17 Nor did it take the settlement long to realise that it was not the escaped bandits and the aborted reward, but the lock, and not a simple situation which faced them. 1958A. Sillitoe Sat. Night xv. 200 It was hardly a stream, but an aborted branch-line of the nearby canal. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 7 July 3-a/2 Sudanese President Jaafar Numeiry broke off diplomatic relations with Libya Tuesday in reprisal for what he said was its role in last week's aborted coup against his regime. 1985W. Sheed Frank & Maisie vi.131 The kid did look funny, and all it took was one repressed giggle or aborted twitch to have everyone shaking.
▸ Of a fetus: extracted or expelled from the womb by abortion. Also: (of a pregnancy) ended by abortion.
1850N.-Y. Jrnl. Med. 5 55 A girl was accused of procuring abortion. The aborted fœtus, of about the sixth month, was acephalous. 1915Trans. Amer. Microsc. Soc. 34 162 Aborted embryos and those obtained by operation..should always be saved and preserved by immersing them intact in 10 per cent formalin or in Zenker's fluid. 1970Amer. Lit. 41 617 So many of the plays deal on a family level with..the shunned or aborted pregnancy. 2002S. Burke Deadwater vii. 64 Macha was the patron saint of stillborn, miscarried and aborted foetuses. |