ABORTIVE

adj. Gr., éxTpopartexos. Lat., abortivus. Fr., abort if. Ger., abortiv. It, Sp., abortivo. 1. Born prematurely; undeveloped or imperfectly developed. In botany, an a. stamen is one that has no anther or only a rudimentary one; an a. flower is one that falls without leaving any trace of fecundation. [A,300.] 2 Cutting short the course of a disease. See Abortive TREATMENT. 3, A disease or a lesion is said to be abortive when, after having begun in the usual way, it suddenly disappears or stops short in its progre . 4. Productive of abortion. See ABORTIFACIENT.