different between abolitionist vs abolish

English

Etymology

First attested in 1788. abolition +? -ist.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?æ.b?.?l??.n?.?st/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?æ.b?.?l??.n?.?st/, /?æ.b?.?l??.n?.?st/

Adjective

abolitionist (comparative more abolitionist, superlative most abolitionist)

1. (historical) In favor of the abolition of slavery. [since the late 18^th century]

Noun

abolitionist (plural abolitionists)

1. A person who favors the abolition of any particular institution or practice. [since the late 18^th century]
   • 2005, Julia O'Connell Davidson, Children in the Global Sex Trade, Polity (?ISBN), page 107:

     Both feminist and religiously inspired abolitionists have long viewed, and continue to view, male demand for commercial sex as a root cause of prostitution.

   • 2007, J. Robert Lilly, Francis T. Cullen, Richard A. Ball, Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences, SAGE (?ISBN), page 198:

     Furthermore, abolitionists argue that prisons are a form of violence and should be destroyed because they reflect “a social ethos of violence and degradation" [...] Abolitionists argue that prisons should be replaced, or at least decentralized, by democratic community control and community-based treatment that would emphasize "redress" or "restorative justice."

2. (historical, US) A person who favored or advocated the abolition of slavery. [since the late 18^th century]

Descendants

• Norwegian Bokmål: abolisjonist

Translations

References

• abolitionist in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Etymology

From late Middle English abolisshen, from Middle French abolir, aboliss- (extended stem), from Latin abol?re (“to retard, check the growth of, (and by extension) destroy, abolish”), inchoative abol?scere (“to wither, vanish, (Classical) cease”), probably from ab (“from, away from”) + *ol?re (“to increase, grow”) which is found only in compound.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: ?-b?l'?sh IPA^(key): /??b?l??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??b?l.??/, /??b?l.??/

Verb

abolish (third-person singular simple present abolishes, present participle abolishing, simple past and past participle abolished or (obsolete) abolisht)

1. To end a law, system, institution, custom or practice. [First attested from around 1350 to 1470.]
2. (archaic) To put an end to or destroy, as a physical object; to wipe out. [First attested from around 1350 to 1470.]

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (to end a law, system, institution, custom or practice): abrogate, annul, cancel, dissolve, nullify, repeal, revoke

Antonyms

• (to end a law, system, institution, custom or practice): establish, found

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References