abscise

verb

ab·​scise ab-ˈsīz 

abscised; abscising

transitive verb

: to separate (something, such as a flower from a stem) by abscission

intransitive verb

: to separate by abscission

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abscisen "to cut away," borrowed from Latin abscīsus, past participle of abscīdere "to cut off or away, remove," from abs- (variant of ab- ab- before c- and t-) + caedere "to strike, cut through, fell"; in later use back-formation from abscision, taken as synonym of abscission — more at concise

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at transitive sense