Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Abduction
Ab-duc′tion
,Noun.
[L.
abductio
: cf. F. abduction
.] 1.
The act of abducing or abducting; a drawing apart; a carrying away.
Roget.
2.
(Physiol.)
The movement which separates a limb or other part from the axis, or middle line, of the body.
3.
(Law)
The wrongful, and usually the forcible, carrying off of a human being;
as, the
. abduction
of a child, the abduction
of an heiress4.
(Logic)
A syllogism or form of argument in which the major is evident, but the minor is only probable.
Webster 1828 Edition
Abduction
ABDUC'TION
,Noun.
1.
In a general sense, the act of drawing apart, or carrying away.2.
In surgery, a species of fracture, in which the broken parts recede from each other.3.
In logic, a kind of argumentation, called by the Greeks apagoge, in which the major is evident, but the minor is not so clear, as not to require farther proof. As in this syllogism, 'all whom God absolves are free from sin; God absolves all who are in Christ; therefore all who are in Christ are free from sin.'4.
In law, the taking and carrying away of a child, a ward, a wife, &c. either by fraud, persuasion, or open violence.