abrogate

abrogate

English

WOTD – 22 September 2009

Alternative forms

• abrogen (obsolete)[1]

Etymology

First attested in 1526, from Middle English abrogat (“abolished”), from Latin abrogātus, perfect passive participle of abrogō (“repeal”), formed from ab (“away”) + rogō (“ask, inquire, propose”). See rogation.

Pronunciation

• (adjective):
  • (UK) enPR: ă.bʹrə.gət, IPA^(key): /ˈæ.bɹə.ɡət/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæb.ɹəˌɡət/
• (verb):
  • (UK) enPR: ăbʹrōgāt, ăbʹrəgāt, IPA^(key): /ˈæb.ɹəʊ.ɡeɪt/, /ˈæ.bɹə.ɡeɪt/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæb.ɹoʊˌɡeɪt/, /ˈæb.ɹəˌɡeɪt/

Verb

abrogate (third-person singular simple present abrogates, present participle abrogating, simple past and past participle abrogated)

1. (transitive, law) To annul by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or her or his successor; to repeal; — applied to the repeal of laws, decrees, ordinances, the abolition of customs, etc. [First attested in the early 16^th century.][2]
   • 1660, Robert South, “The Scribe instructed, &c.”, in Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume 2, page 252:

     But let us look a little further, and see whether the New Testament abrogates what we see so frequently used in the Old.

   • 1796, Edmund Burke, Letter I. On the Overtures of Peace.:

     Whose laws, like those of the Medes and Persian, they cannot alter or abrogate.

   • 2000, Legislative Council of Hong Kong, “Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance 2000”, in Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette‎, page A1059:

     The rule known as the “year and a day rule” […] is abrogated for all purposes.

2. (transitive) To put an end to; to do away with. [First attested in the early 16^th century.][2]
3. (molecular biology, transitive) To block a process or function.

Synonyms

• (to annul by authoritative act): abolish, annul, countermand, invalidate, nullify, overrule, overturn, quash, repeal, rescind, retract, reverse, revoke, set aside, supersede, suspend, undo, veto, void, waive, withdraw
• (to put an end to): abjure, annihilate, cancel, dissolve, do away with, end, obliterate, obviate, recant, subvert, terminate, vitiate, wipe out

Antonyms

• establish
• fix
• promulgate

Related terms

• abrogation

Translations

to annul by an authoritative act

Bulgarian: отменям (bg) (otmenjam), анулирам (bg) (anuliram) Catalan: abrogar (ca) Dutch: afschaffen (nl), opheffen (nl), abrogeren Esperanto: abrogacii Finnish: kumota (fi) German: abschaffen (de) Hungarian: hatályon kívül helyez (hu), eltöröl (hu), visszavon (hu), érvénytelenít (hu), megsemmisít (hu) Ido: abrogar (io) Irish: aisghair Norwegian: oppheve, heve (no), annullere (no) Persian: لغو کردن‎ (fa) Polish: abrogować (pl) impf Portuguese: ab-rogar (pt), anular (pt), revogar (pt) Romanian: abroga (ro), anula (ro) Russian: аннули́ровать (ru) (annulírovatʹ), отменя́ть (ru) (otmenjátʹ), расторга́ть (ru) (rastorgátʹ) Spanish: abrogar (es), derogar (es) Turkish: yürürlükten kaldırmak (tr), feshetmek (tr) Ukrainian: касува́ти (uk) impf (kasuváty), скасува́ти (uk) pf (skasuváty)

to put an end to

Danish: ophæve, afskaffe (da) Dutch: tenietdoen (nl) Finnish: lopettaa (fi), lakkauttaa (fi) German: zunichte machen, aufheben (de), rückgängig machen Hungarian: megszüntet (hu) Irish: cuir deireadh le Norwegian: avslutte (no) Persian: باطل کردن‎ (fa)

Adjective

abrogate (not comparable)

1. (archaic) Abrogated; abolished. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).][2]
   • 1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, page 4:

     Where hunters and woodcutters once slept in their boots by the dying light of their thousand fires and went on, old teutonic forebears with eyes incandesced by the visionary light of a massive rapacity, wave on wave of the violent and insane, their brains stoked with spoorless analogues of all that was, lean aryans with their abrogate semitic chapbook reenacting the dramas and parables therein and mindless and pale with a longing that nothing save dark's total restitution could appease.

References

1. Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 4
2. Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abrogate”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 8.

Further reading

• abrogate at OneLook Dictionary Search
• abrogate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.broˈɡa.te/
• Rhymes: -ate
• Hyphenation: a‧bro‧gà‧te

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

abrogate

1. inflection of abrogare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

abrogate f pl

1. feminine plural of abrogato

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ab.roˈɡaː.te/, [äbrɔˈɡäːt̪ɛ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ab.roˈɡa.te/, [äbroˈɡäːt̪e]

Verb

abrogāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of abrogō