Word of the Day for Friday, December 16, 2011
abrade \uh-BREYD\, verb:
1. To scrape off.
2. To wear off or down by scraping or rubbing.
The cuff digs into Landsman's wrist, sharp enough to abrade the flesh.
-- Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen's Union
He was shorter than Lloyd but heavier in the chest, a wiry-limbed man with bristling dark hair and a quick harsh laugh and a way of crinkling his face so you knew he would say something to abrade your skin like sandpaper.
-- Joyce Carol Oates, High Lonesome
Related to abrasion, abrade is from the Latin roots ab meaning “away from” and rādere meaning “to scrape.”
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