ABSTRACT', v.t. [L. abstraho, to draw from or separate; from abs and traho, which is the Eng. draw. See Draw.] 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.
|
