verb (used with object)
to destroy the self-confidence, poise, or self-possession of; disconcert; make ashamed or embarrassed: to abash someone by sneering.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English abaishen < dialectal Old French abacher, Old French abaissier to put down, bring low (see abase), perhaps conflated with Anglo-French abaiss-, long stem of abair, Old French esba(h)ir to gape, marvel, amaze (es- ex-1 + -ba(h)ir, alteration of baer to open wide, gape < Vulgar Latin *batāre; cf. bay2, bay3)
1275–1325; Middle English abaishen < dialectal Old French abacher, Old French abaissier to put down, bring low (see abase), perhaps conflated with Anglo-French abaiss-, long stem of abair, Old French esba(h)ir to gape, marvel, amaze (es- ex-1 + -ba(h)ir, alteration of baer to open wide, gape < Vulgar Latin *batāre; cf. bay2, bay3)
Related forms
a·bash·ment, noun
Synonyms
shame, discompose, embarrass.
shame, discompose, embarrass.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
abash (əˈbæʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| (tr; usually passive) to cause to feel ill at ease, embarrassed, or confused; make ashamed | |
| [C14: via Norman French from Old French esbair to be astonished, from es- out + bair to gape, yawn] | |
| a'bashment | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
abash
c.1300, from O.Fr. esbaiss-, stem of esbaer "gape with astonishment," from es "out" + ba(y)er "to be open, gape," from L. *batare "to yawn, gape," from root *bat, possibly imitative of yawning. Bashful is a 16c. derivative.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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