Abortive
/əˈbɔːr.tɪv/noun
Failing to produce the intended result; unsuccessful or cut short.
Did you know?“Abortive” comes from the same Latin root as “abortion,” from abortīvus, meaning “prematurely born” or “that which causes miscarriage,” so the word has always carried the sense of interrupted life or failed completion.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
abortīvus
“prematurely born; causing miscarriage”
Latin
Latin
abortus
“miscarriage; premature birth”
Latin
Latin
ab- + orīrī
“away from + to rise, arise, be born”
Middle English
English
abortif
“failing, miscarrying, unsuccessful”
Modern English
English
abortive
“failing to succeed; brought to nothing”