Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “abstractly” come from?

Abstractly derives from Middle English -ly, an adverbial suffix from Latin abstractus, past participle of abstrahere meaning "to draw away," from ab- and the root dʰregʰ- in Proto-Indo-European.

abstractly (English): In an abstract way or manner; separately;...

Definitions

  1. In an abstract way or manner; separately;...

Ancestry of “abstractly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishabstractlyreclusively; while practising a monastic...
2Middle EnglishabstractDrawn away or out of; detached; abstract,...
3Latinabstractusdrawn away from, having been drawn away from;...
4Latinabstraheresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
5Latintraheresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
6LatintrahoI drag, pull; I trail; I extract, withdraw
7Proto-Italictraɣō—
8Proto-Indo-Europeantregʰ-to drag, pull?; to run, walk
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰregʰ-to run
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰregʰ- →