attrition

attrition
attrition 1540s, "abrasion, a scraping," from L. attritionem (nom. attritio), lit. "a rubbing against," noun of action from pp. stem of atterere "to wear, rub away," figuratively "to destroy, waste," from ad- "to" (see AD- (Cf. ad-)) + terere "to rub" (see THROW (Cf. throw)). The earliest sense in English is from Scholastic theology (late 14c.), "sorrow for sin merely out of fear of punishment," a minor irritation, and thus less than contrition. The sense of "wearing down of military strength" is a World War I coinage (1914). Figurative use by 1930.

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  • Attrition — • Also called imperfect contrition. Definition, its relation to sacramental penance, and moral considerations Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Attrition     Attrition      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • attrition — [ atrisjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1541; lat. attritio « frottement » I ♦ (XVIe) Théol. Regret d avoir offensé Dieu, causé par la crainte des peines. ⇒ contrition, regret. « Cœur tant de fois forgé D attritions » (Péguy). II ♦ 1 ♦ Techn. Usure destinée à… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Attrition — may refer to: *Physical wear *Loss of personnel by retirement *Attrition (medicine, epidemiology), the loss of participants during an experiment *Attrition (dental), the loss of tooth structure by mechanical forces from opposing teeth *Attrition… …   Wikipedia

  • attrition — at‧tri‧tion [əˈtrɪʆn] noun [uncountable] 1. HUMAN RESOURCES the process of reducing the number of employees by not replacing those who leave for normal reasons, such as changing jobs, retirement (= leaving a job when you reach a certain age) etc …   Financial and business terms

  • Attrition — At*tri tion, n. [L. attritio: cf. F. attrition.] 1. The act of rubbing together; friction; the act of wearing by friction, or by rubbing substances together; abrasion. [1913 Webster] Effected by attrition of the inward stomach. Arbuthnot. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Attrition — (lat. attritio Abreibung) bedeutet: eine Form der Abrasion (Zahnmedizin) der Name einer britischen Musikformation, siehe Attrition (Band) Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidun …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • attrition — ATTRITION. s. f. Regret d avoir offensé Dieu, causé par la crainte des peines. L attrition ne suffit pas sans la confession …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • attrition — [n1] wearing down or away abrasion, attenuation, debilitation, depreciation, disintegration, erosion, grinding, rubbing, thinning, weakening, wear; concepts 469,776 Ant. building, strengthening attrition [n2] regret contriteness, penance,… …   New thesaurus

  • attrition — ATTRITION. s. f. Regret d avoir offensé Dieu, causé par la crainte de ses chastimens. L Attrition ne suffit pas sans la Confession …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • attrition — [ə trish′ən] n. [ME attricioun < L attritio < attritus, pp. of atterere, to wear, rub away < ad , to + terere, to rub: see THROW] 1. the act or process of wearing away or grinding down by friction 2. any gradual wearing or weakening, esp …   English World dictionary

  • Attrition — (lat., »Zerreibung«) bezeichnet im römisch katholischen Lehrsystem, im Gegensatze zur Kontrition (contritio cordis), die mangelhafte Reue, welche die Sünde nur haßt um der Strafe willen, also aus Furcht vor der Strafe, aber zur Absolution… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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