extraction
(ɛkˈstrækʃən)
[a. Fr. extraction (OF. also in semi-popular form estracion), ad. med.L. extractiōn-em, n. of action f. L. extrahĕre: see extract v.]
1. The action or process of drawing (something) out of a receptacle; the pulling or taking out (of anything) by mechanical means; † withdrawal or removal (of a person); an instance of this.
| 1530–1 Act 22 Hen. VIII, c. 14 He..shal be suffred to remayne..in the same sayntuary, without any extraction from the same. 1626 Bacon Sylva §481 Rew doth prosper much..if it be set by a Fig-tree: which..is caused..by Extraction of a contrary Juyce. 1794 Morse Amer. Geog. 592 The extraction of gold [from mines] is neither very laborious nor dangerous in Brazil. 1799 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) III. 255, I will not permit the extraction of corn from Sicily. 1799 Med. Jrnl. II. 233 The extraction of a fœtus already dead. 1829 S. Cooper Good's Study Med. (ed. 3) IV. 238 Extraction [of a cataract] consists in making an incision through the cornea..and letting the lens escape through the pupil. 1863 Lyell Antiq. Man 14 The long bones..broken..to allow of the extraction of the marrow. 1878 L. P. Meredith Teeth 181 The extraction of a tooth might not really be the cause of the trouble. |
| fig. 1874 Morley Compromise (1886) 152 The extraction of the first and more permanent elements of the old faith, to make the purified material of the new. |
† b. The drawing of an inference; a deduction.
Obs.| 1622 T. Scott Belg. Pismire 12 Here wee finde..advised..A Conclusion, or profitable extraction from the consultation; and be wise. |
2. a. The action of extracting or copying out (a passage) from a book, etc.;
† b. concr. An extracted passage, quotation (
obs.);
= extract n. 4.
| 1656 Jer. Taylor in Evelyn's Mem. (1857) III. 77, I had occasion to use those extractions out of it [Lucretius]. 1656–81 Blount Glossogr., Extraction..a breviate or abridgement, also a Draught or Copy. Mod. Much pains has been taken in the extraction of illustrative passages. |
3. The action or process of obtaining (the constituent elements, juices, etc.) from any substance by heat, pressure, etc.
Cf. extract v. 4.
spirit of the first extraction: that which comes off at the first distillation.
| 1605 Timme Quersit. iii. 183 Distillation is an extraction of a liquor from a body by heate. 1627 Hakewill Apol. iii. vii. §5. 231 Their artificiall extractions, seperations, and preparations of their medicines. 1701 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) V. 54 The duty on low wines and spirits of the first extraction. 1837 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. II. 265 The extraction of the soluble matter of bone. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. iii. (1876) 19 Greater pains and more labour were devoted to the extraction of gold from its ores. 1880 Act 43–44 Vict. c. 24 §3 ‘Low wines’ means spirits of the first extraction conveyed into a low wines receiver. 1891 Thorpe Dict. Applied Chem., Extraction apparatus. The object of extraction is to dissolve out some constituent or constituents from a solid, by heating it with a solvent. |
† b. concr. = extract n. 2.
Obs.| 1594 Plat Jewell-ho., Chem. Concl. 22 A stiffe and drie substance, which our Chimistes do call the extraction of the hearbe. 1605 B. Jonson Volpone ii. Wks. (Rtldg.) 183/1 This rare extraction..hath..power to disperse all malignant humours. 1670–98 R. Lassels Voy. Italy I. 129, I saw their still-house where they make excellent extractions and cordial waters. |
c. transf. and
fig.| 1587 Golding De Mornay x. 140 As thou hast taken so great paines in..bringing things backe againe into their first matter; whence commeth it that thy extractions..haue so..contrarie operations. 1605 Tryall Chev. ii. iii. in Bullen O. Pl. (1884) III. 296 The pure extraction of all beauty Flowes in abundance to my love-sick eye. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 35 They do preserve..the purest efficacie and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. |
4. Math. The process or method of extracting (the root of a number or quantity).
| 1557 Recorde Whetst. C ij, The extraction of rootes [of numbers] should go orderly before the arte of Proportions. 1676 Glanvill Ess. iii. 14 Extraction of Roots (which is a species of Division). 1827 Hutton Course Math. I. 86 Two extractions for the 4th root, three for the 8th root, and so on. 1867 Todhunter Algebra for Beginners xxxii. §287 We shall then consider.. the extraction of the cube root of compound expressions. |
5. a. Of persons: Origin, lineage, descent.
| c 1477 Caxton Jason 90 Ye be comen of so noble extraction of ryal lignage. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lv. 186, I am com of a noble extraccyon. 1630 Sir S. D'Ewes Jrnl. (1783) 69 Herself and my lord's daughter-in-law doe respect my wife according to her several noble extractions. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. 261 The memory of their common extraction was perpetuated by barbaric rites. 1878 Gladstone Prim. Homer 98 Dark hair is a note of the foreigner, and of southern extraction. |
† b. Of things: Origin, source.
Obs.| 1648 Boyle Seraph. Love i. (1700) 2, I could wish..that the extraction of your freedom may no ways blemish it. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. v. iii. §31 Well therefore may the English..be ashamed of their Reformation, considering the vitious Extraction thereof. |
Hence
† exˈtractionable a., fit or adapted for extraction.
| 1797 Downing Disord. Horned Cattle 113 A calf..cannot be extracted..until replaced..in an extractionable position. |