Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Abstract
Ab′stractˊ
(#; 277)
, Adj.
1.
Withdraw; separate.
[Obs.]
The more
abstract
. . . we are from the body. Norris.
2.
Considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; existing in the mind only;
as,
. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult. abstract
truth, abstract
numbers3.
(Logic)
(a)
Expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; – opposed to
concrete
; as, honesty is an
. abstract
wordJ. S. Mill.
(b)
Resulting from the mental faculty of abstraction; general as opposed to particular;
as, “reptile” is an
. abstract
or general nameLocke.
A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an
abstract
name which stands for an attribute of a thing. A practice has grown up in more modern times, which, if not introduced by Locke, has gained currency from his example, of applying the expression “abstract
name” to all names which are the result of abstraction and generalization, and consequently to all general names, instead of confining it to the names of attributes. J. S. Mill.
4.
Abstracted; absent in mind.
“Abstract, as in a trance.” Milton.
An abstract idea
(Metaph.)
, an idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it; as the solidity of marble when contemplated apart from its color or figure.
– Abstract terms
, those which express abstract ideas, as beauty, whiteness, roundness, without regarding any object in which they exist; or abstract terms are the names of orders, genera or species of things, in which there is a combination of similar qualities.
– Abstract numbers
(Math.)
, numbers used without application to things, as 6, 8, 10; but when applied to any thing, as 6 feet, 10 men, they become concrete.
– Abstract mathematics
or Pure mathematics
See
Mathematics
.1.
To withdraw; to separate; to take away.
He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution
abstracted
from his own prejudices. Sir W. Scott.
2.
To draw off in respect to interest or attention;
as, his was wholly
. abstracted
by other objectsThe young stranger had been
abstracted
and silent. Blackw. Mag.
3.
To separate, as ideas, by the operation of the mind; to consider by itself; to contemplate separately, as a quality or attribute.
Whately.
4.
To epitomize; to abridge.
Franklin.
5.
To take secretly or dishonestly; to purloin;
as, to
. abstract
goods from a parcel, or money from a tillVon Rosen had quietly
abstracted
the bearing-reins from the harness. W. Black.
6.
(Chem.)
To separate, as the more volatile or soluble parts of a substance, by distillation or other chemical processes. In this sense extract is now more generally used.
Ab-stract′
,Verb.
T.
To perform the process of abstraction.
[R.]
I own myself able to
abstract
in one sense. Berkeley.
1.
That which comprises or concentrates in itself the essential qualities of a larger thing or of several things. Specifically: A summary or an epitome, as of a treatise or book, or of a statement; a brief.
An
abstract
of every treatise he had read. Watts.
Man, the
Of all perfection, which the workmanship
Of Heaven hath modeled.
abstract
Of all perfection, which the workmanship
Of Heaven hath modeled.
Ford.
2.
A state of separation from other things;
as, to consider a subject in the
. abstract
, or apart from other associated things3.
An abstract term.
The concretes “father” and “son” have, or might have, the
abstracts
“paternity” and “filiety.” J. S. Mill.
Syn. – Abridgment; compendium; epitome; synopsis. See
Abridgment
. Webster 1828 Edition
Abstract
ABSTRACT'
,Verb.
T.
1.
To draw from, or to separate; as to abstract an action from its evil effects; to abstract spirit from any substance by distillation; but in this sense extract is now more generally used.2.
To separate ideas by the operation of the mind; to consider one part of a complex object, or to have a partial idea of it in the mind.3.
To select or separate the substance of a book or writing; to epitomize or reduce to a summary.4.
In chimistry, to separate, as the more volatile parts of a substance by repeated distillation, or at least by distillation.