abrade, v.
(əˈbreɪd)
[ad. L. abrādĕre to scrape off, f. ab off + rād-ĕre to scrape.]
1. To rub or wear off (a part from anything).
| 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. 95 What is successively abraded from them [mountains] by decursion of Waters. |
2. To wear down by rubbing, to rub away; lit. and fig.
| 1748 Phil. Trans. XLV. 47 They..are capable of enlarging their room as they grow bigger, by abrading the sides of their cells. 1804 W. Taylor in Ann. Rev. II. 336 A hackneyed clamouring for religion and order will not abrade the popularity..of a French government. 1856 Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 11 To dogs famishing..frozen food often proves fatal, abrading the stomach and œsophagus. 1863 Lyell Antiq. of Man xv. 293 Stones which lie underneath the glaciers..abrade, groove, and polish the rock. |
3. intr. To wear or rub away.
| 1890 C. Dixon Stray Feathers xvi, Birds which assume many nuptial ornaments in spring, gorgets, plumes, and crests, which drop out or abrade as soon as the pairing season has passed. |