abortive

Meanings

Adjective

• Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural.
• Coming to nothing; failing in its effect. .
• Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile.
• Causing abortion; abortifacient
• Cutting short; acting to halt or slow the progress (of a disease).
• Made from the skin of a still-born animal.

Noun

• Someone or something born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion.
• A fruitless effort.
• A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion, abortifacient.

Verb

• To cause an abortion; to render without fruit.

Origin

• First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English, from Old French abortif, from Latin abortīvus ("causing abortion"), from aborior, from ab + orior.