Definitions

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a dark-skinned member of a race of people living in Australia when Europeans arrived

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1922, shortened from aborigine.

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Examples

  • Robert DiPierdomenico apologises for 'abo' gaffe UPDATE 5. 42PM: ROBERT DiPierdomenico says he feels 'ashamed' for using the word 'abo' and has apologised personally to Gavin Wanganeen.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2010

  • Robert DiPierdomenico dropped as Auskick ambassador over Gavin Wanganeen 'abo' remark ROBERT

    AustralianIT.com.au | Top Stories 2010

  • '' Not only have Tourism NT approved - and are bidding on - a racially offensive keyword, they are actually including the word 'abo' in an advertisement. ''

    AustralianIT.com.au | Top Stories 2010

  • Butler will learn from your habits and remember what you want a certain abbreviation to do (e.g., enter "abo" to launch "Address Book").

    VersionTracker: Mac OS X 2010

  • '' Not only have Tourism NT approved - and are bidding on - a racially offensive keyword, they are actually including the word 'abo' in an advertisement. ''

    ETravelBlackboard.com 2010

  • '' Not only have Tourism NT approved - and are bidding on - a racially offensive keyword, they are actually including the word 'abo' in an advertisement. ''

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2010

  • Robert DiPierdomenico apologises for 'abo' gaffe UPDATE 5. 12PM: ROBERT DiPierdomenico says he feels 'ashamed' for using the word 'abo' and has apologised personally to Gavin Wanganeen.

    AustralianIT.com.au | Top Stories 2010

  • '' Not only have Tourism NT approved - and are bidding on - a racially offensive keyword, they are actually including the word 'abo' in an advertisement. ''

    ETravelBlackboard.com 2010

  • "He done tol 'me, Honey, you was dyin' abo'd yo 'ship' n 'o' coase I goes on down to see.

    Sonnie-Boy's People 1912

  • This chronological listing of Mexico's famous and infamous historical figures puts you only a click away from reading more abo ... read more famous-people history

    The Zapata interview 2009

  • Scientists say these notorious molecules, known as anti-Bredt olefins (ABOs), offer a new path to synthesizing challenging drug candidates.

    Chemists make ‘impossible’ molecules that break 100-year-old bonding rule Gemma Conroy 2024

Comments

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  • Etymology
    From ab- ‎(“from, away from”) +‎ oleō ‎(“increase, grow”).

    Pronunciation
    (Classical) IPA(key): /aˈbo.le.oː/, aˈbɔ.ɫe.oː

    Verb
    aboleō ‎(present infinitive abolēre, perfect active abolēvī, supine abolitum); second conjugation

    I retard, check the growth of.
    I destroy, efface, abolish; terminate.
    (in passive) I die, decay.

    June 16, 2016