2. A fruitless effort or issue. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
3. A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion; -- also called an {abortifacient}. --Dunglison. [1913 Webster +PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
Abortifacient — A*bor ti*fa cient ([.a]*b[^o]r t[i^]*f[=a] shent), a. [L. abortus (see {Abort}, v.) + faciens, p. pr. of facere to make.] Producing miscarriage. n. A drug or an agent that causes premature delivery. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
abortifacient — (n.) 1875, noun and adjective, from L. abortus (see ABORTIVE (Cf. abortive)) + facientem making, related to facere do (see FACTITIOUS (Cf. factitious)). An earlier word for this in the noun sense was abortive (1640s) … Etymology dictionary
abortifacient — [ə bôrt΄ə fā′shənt] adj. [< ABORTI(ON) + FACIENT] causing abortion n. a drug or agent that causes abortion … English World dictionary
Abortifacient — In this medieval image, a midwife prepares a pennyroyal mixture for a pregnant woman. An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. Abortifacients for animals that have mated undesirably are known as mismating shots. Common… … Wikipedia
abortifacient — noun Date: 1873 an agent (as a drug) that induces abortion • abortifacient adjective … New Collegiate Dictionary
abortifacient — /euh bawr teuh fay sheuhnt/, adj. 1. causing abortion. n. 2. a drug or device used to cause abortion: a biochemical abortifacient in pill form. [1870 75; ABORT + I + FACIENT] * * * … Universalium
abortifacient — 1. Producing abortion. SYN: aborticide, abortient, abortigenic, abortive (3). 2. An agent that produces abortion. [L. abortus, abortion, + facio, to make] * * * abor·ti·fa·cient ə .bȯrt ə fā shənt adj inducing abortion abortifacien … Medical dictionary
abortifacient Medicine — [əˌbɔ:tɪ feɪʃ(ə)nt] adjective (of a drug) causing abortion. noun an abortifacient drug … English new terms dictionary
abortifacient — 1. adjective Producing miscarriage 2. noun A drug or an agent that causes premature delivery … Wiktionary
abortifacient — tɪ feɪʃənt n. drug which causes abortion, agent which causes the premature termination of a pregnancy adj. causing the premature termination of a pregnancy, inducing abortion (of a drug) … English contemporary dictionary
