Aborted

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈbɔɹtɪd/

Definitions

1. Stopped before completion or natural conclusion ; ended a pregnancy before the fetus can survive independently
2. Brought to an early halt before achieving the intended outcome ; deliberately ended a pregnancy
3. Ceased before finishing as planned or expected ; medically ended the development of a fetus

Etymology: Latin "aboriri" meant "to miscarry" or "to be born prematurely," built from "ab-" ("away") and "oriri" ("to rise" or "to be born"). The idea was literally a birth going off course before its time. From it came "abortare," the frequentative of "aborior," which kept the sense of an early, failed birth, and English took the word in its medical sense of a birth ending before the child could survive. The meaning then spread well beyond the body. English speakers began using "abort" for any plan or event that collapsed before reaching completion, so a mission, a launch, or a project could be aborted in the same way a pregnancy could. That broader sense of stopping something midway is what the verb carries today. "Aborted" is the past form of that verb, formed by adding the regular "-ed" ending to "abort," so it describes something that has already been called off early.

Synonyms: terminated, cancelled, halted, discontinued, stopped

Antonyms: continued, initiated, started, launched, proceeded