Abolition - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Abolition :  (noun)

1: the act of abolishing a system or practice or institution (especially abolishing slavery); "the abolition of capital punishment" [syn: abolishment]

Based on WordNet 2.0

Abolition : \Ab"o*li"tion\, n. [L. abolitio, fr. abolere: cf. F. abolition. See Abolish.] The act of abolishing, or the state of being abolished; an annulling; abrogation; utter destruction; as, the abolition of slavery or the slave trade; the abolition of laws, decrees, ordinances, customs, taxes, debts, etc.

Note: The application of this word to persons is now unusual or obsolete

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

ABOLITION. An act by which a thing is extinguished, abrogated or annihilated. Merl. Repert, h.t., as, theAbolition : of slavery is the destruction of slavery. 2. In the civil and French law abolition is used nearly synonymously with pardon, remission, grace. Dig. 39, 4, 3, 3. There is, however, this difference; grace is the generic term; pardon, according to those laws, is the clemency which the prince extends to a man who has participated in a crime, without being a principal or accomplice; remission is made in cases of involuntary homicides, and self-defence. Abolition is different: it is used when the crime cannot be remitted. The prince then may by letters of abolition remit the punishment, but the infamy remains, unless letters of abolition have been obtained before sentence. Encycl. de d'Alembert, h.t. 3. The term abolition is used in the German law in the same sense as in the French law. Encycl. Amer. h.t. The term abolition is derived from the civil law, in which it is sometimes used synonymously with absolution. Dig. 39, 4, 3, 3.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Example Usage of Abolition

nickromyn: RT @JohnCollison: Alfred Nobel: Prize winner "shall have done the most..for fraternity between nations, for..Abolition or reduction of s ...
HelpOntario: RT @JohnCollison: Alfred Nobel: Prize winner "shall have done the most..for fraternity between nations, for..Abolition or reduction of s ...
kalimkassam: RT @JohnCollison: Alfred Nobel: Prize winner "shall have done the most..for fraternity between nations, for..Abolition or reduction of s ...
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