ablate

Definition

To remove or decrease something by cutting, erosion, melting, evaporation, or vaporization.

Etymology

From Middle English ablat (“taken away”), from Latin ablātus, past participle of auferō (“to remove”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). First attested in the 1500s, it became obsolete by the early 1600s. Returned into use as a back-formation from ablation.

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