abscission, cutting off
(noun) the act of cutting something off
abscission
(noun) shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant
Source: WordNet® 3.1
abscission (countable and uncountable, plural abscissions)
The act or process of cutting off.
(obsolete) The state of being cut off. [Attested only in the mid 17th century.]
(rhetoric) A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly
(botany) The natural separation of a part at a predetermined location, such as a leaf at the base of the petiole. [First attested in the late 19th century.]
Not to be confused with abscision, which only is defined as the first sense.
• abscisions
Source: Wiktionary
Ab*scis"sion, n. Etym: [L. abscissio. See Abscind.]
1. The act or process of cutting off. "Not to be cured without the abscission of a member." Jer. Taylor.
2. The state of being cut off. Sir T. Browne.
3. (Rhet.)
Definition: A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly: thus, "He is a man of so much honor and candor, and of such generosity -- but I need say no more."
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 April 2025
(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
