Abominacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling of abomination, meaning something that is deeply loathsome, morally repugnant, or detestable
2. An old form of the word for a thing regarded with intense disgust, horror, or moral revulsion
3. A Middle English term for something that provokes strong hatred or is considered utterly vile and wicked

Etymology: Middle English "abominacioun" is the Chaucer-era spelling of a word that meant, quite literally, a thing to be shunned as unclean. It came into English from Old French "abomination," which in turn was borrowed from Latin "abominatio," a noun built from "ab" ("away from") and "omen" ("omen" or "sign"). The sense was that something was so ill-omened it had to be turned away from, and religious writers used it heavily for sins and for objects regarded as ritually impure. The Latin root's ominous sense survives in the English word's emotional force. Medieval English translators of the Bible, who had the Vulgate's "abominatio" before them, used the term for idolatry and for acts forbidden by law, which helped cement its moral weight. Over time it lost its ritual specificity and came to mean anything loathsome or morally repugnant, and eventually a casual expression of disgust.