abject

== English == === Etymology 1 === The adjective is derived from Late Middle English abiect, abject (adjective) [and other forms], from Middle French abject (modern French abject, abjet (obsolete)), and from its etymon Latin abiectus (“abandoned; cast aside”), an adjective use of the perfect passive participle of abiciō (“to discard, throw away”), from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away from’) + iaciō (“to throw”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- (“to throw”)). The noun is derived from the adjective. ==== Pronunciation ==== (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ăbʹjĕkt, IPA(key): /ˈæbd͡ʒɛkt/ (General American) enPR: ăbʹjĕkt, IPA(key): /ˈæbˌd͡ʒɛkt/ Hyphenation: ab‧ject ==== Adjective ==== abject (comparative abjecter or more abject, superlative abjectest or most abject) Existing in or sunk to a low condition, position, or state; contemptible, despicable, miserable. [from early 15th c.] Synonyms: degraded, (archaic) demiss, ignoble, mean, vile, wretched, worthless Antonym: unabject (by extension) (chiefly with a negative connotation) Complete; downright; utter. Synonyms: out-and-out, unmitigated; see also Thesaurus:total (rare) Lower than nearby areas; low-lying. Of a person: cast down in hope or spirit; showing utter helplessness, hopelessness, or resignation; also, grovelling; ingratiating; servile. [from mid 14th c.] Synonyms: beggarly, cringing, slavish Antonym: unabject (sociology, usually nominalized) Marginalized as deviant. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== abjection abjective (obsolete, rare) ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== abject (plural abjects) A person in the lowest and most despicable condition; an oppressed person; an outcast; also, such people as a class. [from early 16th c.] Synonyms: (rare) heanling, wretch ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Late Middle English abjecten (“to cast out, expel”) [and other forms], from abiect, abject (adjective) (see etymology 1). Sense 3 (“of a fungus: to give off (spores or sporidia)”) is modelled after German abschleudern (“to give off forcefully”). ==== Pronunciation ==== (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: ăbjĕktʹ, IPA(key): /æbˈd͡ʒɛkt/ Rhymes: -ɛkt Hyphenation: ab‧ject ==== Verb ==== abject (third-person singular simple present abjects, present participle abjecting, simple past and past participle abjected) (transitive, chiefly archaic) To cast off or out (someone or something); to reject, especially as contemptible or inferior. [from 15th c.] To cast down (someone or something); to abase; to debase; to degrade; to lower; also, to forcibly impose obedience or servitude upon (someone); to subjugate. [from 15th c.] (mycology) Of a fungus: to (forcibly) give off (spores or sporidia). ===== Derived terms ===== abjected (adjective, noun) abjectedness ===== Translations ===== === References === === Further reading === Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 4 Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 3 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abject”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 5. == Dutch == === Etymology === Borrowed from French abject, from Latin abiectus. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɑbˈjɛkt/ Hyphenation: ab‧ject Rhymes: -ɛkt === Adjective === abject (comparative abjecter, superlative abjectst) reprehensible, despicable, abject ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== abjectheid == French == === Etymology === From Latin abiectus. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ab.ʒɛkt/ === Adjective === abject (feminine abjecte, masculine plural abjects, feminine plural abjectes) (literary) Worthy of utmost contempt or disgust; vile; despicable (literary, obsolete) of the lowest social position ==== Usage notes ==== Abject lacks the idea of groveling, of moral degradation over time that is present in the English word. ==== Derived terms ==== abjectement ==== Related terms ==== abjection ==== Descendants ==== → German: abjekt → Norwegian Bokmål: abjekt → Romanian: abject === Further reading === “abject”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French abject, from Latin abiectus. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /abˈʒekt/ Rhymes: -ekt Hyphenation: ab‧jéct === Adjective === abject m or n (feminine singular abjectă, masculine plural abjecți, feminine/neuter plural abjecte) abject ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “abject”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026