Etymology: < Middle French abject (French abject , †abjet ) wretched, despicable, self-abasing (15th cent. with reference to a person, a1460 with reference to an immaterial object), (of a person) cast down, brought low (c1460), (of an action) despicable, reprehensible (1475), of low social status (1549) and its etymon classical Latin abiectus dejected, downcast, humble, undistinguished, unimportant, commonplace, mean, despicable, base, subservient, use as adjective of past participle of abicere to throw away, to overthrow, to debase, degrade, to understate, undervalue, to discard, to give up, abandon, to disregard, to decline < ab- ab- prefix + iacere to throw (see jactation n.). Compare Spanish abyecto (end of the 15th cent. as †abjecto ), Italian abietto (14th cent.; also †abiecto ). With use as noun compare post-classical Latin abiectus poor or humble person (6th cent. in plural, abiecti , in an inscription). Compare slightly later abject v. and later abjected adj. N.E.D. (1884) gives the pronunciation as (æ·bdʒėkt) /ˈæbdʒɪkt/.

Etymology: < classical Latin abiect-, past participial stem of abicere (see abject adj.). Compare Middle French abjecter , abjetter to abase oneself (a1544, used reflexively), (with change of conjugation) abjettir to disdain, despise (a person) (1596). In sense 3 after German abschleudern to eject with force (1884 in specific mycological sense, in the passage translated in quot. 1887). Compare slightly earlier abject adj., abjection n., and later abjected adj.