English

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Etymology

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    Borrowed from Middle French abolition, from Old French abolucion, a learned borrowing from Latin abolitiōnem. First attested in 1529. Equivalent to abolish +‎ -tion.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    abolition (plural abolitions)

    1. The act of abolishing; an annulling; abrogation. [First attested around the early 16th century.][1]
      Synonyms: annulment, devalidation, revocation; see also Thesaurus:invalidation
      Antonyms: establishment, foundation
      the abolition of debts; the abolition of laws; the abolition of slavery; the abolition of police; the abolition of taxes
      The campaign for the abolition of slavery changed the course of history.
    2. The state of being abolished.
    3. (historical, often capitalised, UK, US) The ending of the slave trade or of slavery. [First attested around the early 18th century.][1]
    4. (historical, often capitalised, Australia) The ending of convict transportation. [First attested around the late 18th century.][1]
    5. (obsolete) An amnesty; a putting out of memory. [Attested from the early 17th century to the early 19th century.][1]

    Usage notes

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    The sense "amnesty", and in general any reference to "abolition of" a person, is now obsolete or unusual.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

    References

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    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abolition”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 6.

    French

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    Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin abolitiōnem.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      abolition f (plural abolitions)

      1. abolition

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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