different between absent vs nonexistent

English

Alternative forms

• abs.

Etymology 1

From Middle English absent, from Middle French absent, from Old French ausent, and their source, Latin absens, present participle of absum (“to be away from”), from ab (“away”) + sum (“to be”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?æb.sn?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?æb.sn?t/, enPR: ?b's?nt

Adjective

absent (comparative absenter, superlative absentest)

1. (not comparable) Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present; missing. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
2. (not comparable) Not existing; lacking. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

3. (sometimes comparable) Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied. [First attested in the early 18^th century.]

Antonyms

• present

Related terms

• absence
• absentee
• absenteeism
• absentia, in absentia

Translations

Noun

absent (plural absents)

1. (with definite article) Something absent, especially absent people collectively; those who were or are not there. [from 15th c.]
   • 1772, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin 2001, 30 May:

     The Applause he met with exceeds all belief of the Absent.

   • 1947, Cecil Day Lewis, Poetic Image:

     That very sense of longing, of yearning for the absent, which 'nostalgia' conveys to us now.

2. (obsolete) An absentee; a person who is not there. [15th–19th c.]

Preposition

absent

1. In the absence of; without; except. [First attested in the mid 20^th century.]

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English absenten, from Old French absenter, from Late Latin absent?re (“keep away, be away”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /æb?s?nt/, enPR: ?bs?nt'
• (US) IPA^(key): /æb?s?nt/

Verb

absent (third-person singular simple present absents, present participle absenting, simple past and past participle absented)

1. (reflexive) To keep (oneself) away.
   • This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.

2. (transitive, archaic) To keep (someone) away. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
3. (intransitive, obsolete) Stay away; withdraw. [Attested from around 1350 to 1470 until the late 18^th century.]
4. (transitive, rare) Leave. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

Translations

References

Anagrams

• Basnet, Batens, abnets, basnet, besant

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin abs?ns, abs?ntem. Doublet of ausent.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /?p?sent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /?p?sen/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ap?sent/

Adjective

absent (masculine and feminine plural absents)

1. absent

   Antonym: present

Related terms

• absència

Further reading

• “absent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin abs?ns, abs?ntem. Compare the popular form ausent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ap.s??/

Adjective

absent (feminine singular absente, masculine plural absents, feminine plural absentes)

1. absent
2. absent-minded

Derived terms

• aux abonnés absents
• absent le chat, les souris dansent

Related terms

• absence

Noun

absent m (plural absents)

1. absentee; missing person

Further reading

• “absent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• basent

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

absent (not comparable)

1. absent, not present
2. absent-minded

Declension

Norman

Etymology

From Old French ausent, relatinized on the model of its ancestor, Latin abs?ns (“absent, missing”), present active participle of absum, abesse (“be away, be absent”).

Adjective

absent m

1. (Jersey) absent

Derived terms

• absemment (“absently”)

Romanian

Etymology

From French absent, Latin abs?ns, abs?ntem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab?sent/, /ap?sent/

Adjective

absent m or n (feminine singular absent?, masculine plural absen?i, feminine and neuter plural absente)

1. absent

   Antonym: prezent

Related terms

Further reading

• absent in DEX online - Dic?ionare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

English

Alternative forms

• non-existent

Etymology

From non- +? existent.

Adjective

nonexistent (not comparable)

1. Not existent; not real.

   Synonyms: inexistent; see also Thesaurus:inexistent

   • 1994, William Martin Hunt, Decennial Census: 1995 Test Census Presents Opportunities to Evaluate New Census-Taking Methods, US General Accounting Office, page 4,

     In the 1995 Test Census, the Bureau plans to test the use of Postal Service letter carriers to identify vacant and nonexistent units when it mails census questionnaires.

   • 1996, Dale Jacquette, Meinongian Logic: The Semantics of Existence and Nonexistence, Walter de Gruyter, page 7,

     If there is anything of philosophical significance to be taken at face value in ordinary thought and language it is the reference and attribution of properties to existent and nonexistent objects.

   • 2015, Jonathan Gold, Paving the Great Way: Vasubandhu's Unifying Buddhist Philosophy, Columbia University Press, 2016, Paperback, page 275,

     Conversely, to return to the point at hand, nonexistent entities can be known, even by a Buddha, without being, thereby, substantial.

Related terms

• nonexistence
• nonexistential

Translations

Further reading

• Existence on Wikipedia.Wikipedia