adj, noun — 7 senses
US /ˈæb.lə.tɪv/ · /əˈbleɪ.tɪv/
Etymology From Middle English ablative, ablatife, ablatyf, ablatif, from Old French ablatif (“the ablative case”), from Latin ablātīvus (“expressing removal”), from ablātus (“taken away”), from auferō (“to take away”). The engineering/nautical sense originates from ablate + -ive.
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Applied to one of the cases of the noun in some languages, the fundamental meaning of the case being removal, separation, or taking away, and to a lesser degree, instrument, place, accordance, specifications, price, or measurement.
Archaic Pertaining to taking away or removing.
Aerospace, Astronautics, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Nautical, Physical sciences, Transport Sacrificial, wearing away or being destroyed in order to protect the underlying material, as in ablative paints used for antifouling, or ablative heat shields used to protect spacecraft during reentry. .
Medicine, Sciences Relating to the removal of a body part, tumor, or organ.
Etymology From Middle English ablative, ablatife, ablatyf, ablatif, from Old French ablatif (“the ablative case”), from Latin ablātīvus (“expressing removal”), from ablātus (“taken away”), from auferō (“to take away”). The engineering/nautical sense originates from ablate + -ive.
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The ablative case.
An ablative material.
Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.