[a. OFr. abatement, abattement, f. abattre; see ABATE v.1 and -MENT.] The action of abating, or state of being abated, with most of the senses of the vb.
1. The act of overthrowing, putting down, or doing away with; the state of being overthrown, quashed or annulled. Obs. exc. as a Law term: the abatement of a nuisance, action, writ, or claim. ‘In its present most general signification it relates to writs or plaints, and means the quashing or destroying the plaintiff’s writ or plaint.’ Tomlins.
1528. Perkins, Profitable Booke, v. § 385. 167 (1642). A plea which goeth meerely in abatement of the writ.
1599. Marston, Scourge of Villanie, II. vii. 205. Their only skill rests in Collusions, Abatements, stoppels, inhibitions.
1768. Blackstone, Comm., III. 5. A fourth species of remedy … is the abatement, or removal, of Nusances.
1809. Tomlins, Law Dict., s.v. A Plea in Abatement is a plea put in by the defendant, in which he shows cause to the court why he should not be impleaded or sued.
1860. Massey, Hist. Engl., III. xxxi. 438. The opinion in Westminster Hall was in favour of the abatement.
2. The act of lowering, lessening, or lightening; the state of depreciation, diminution, or decrease; the subsidence (of action); alleviation or mitigation (of evils).
1517. Hawes, Past. Pleas., xliii. 14. And in like wise without abatement I shall cause for to be memoriall The famus actes.
1601. Shaks., Twel. N., I. i. 13. Nought enters there … But falls into abatement, and low price.
1655. Cromwell (Carlyle), Sp., iv. I had much abatement of my hopes; though not a total frustration.
1675. Baxter, Catholick Theologie, II. viii. 141. A delay of their future misery, and hopes of its abatement.
1794. Sullivan, View of Nat., I. 67. Like a high sea on the abatement of a storm.
1878. Gladstone, Prim. Homer, 108. A sense of depression and disappointment, and abatement of the higher energies.
† b. Something which lightens toil; relaxation, recreation. Obs.
1513. Douglas, Æneid, V. prol. 45. For quha sa list sere gladsum gamis lere, Ful mony mery abaitmentis followis here.
3. The result of abating or lessening; the amount by which anything is abated; decrease, deduction, drawback. lit. and fig. and as a technical term in Comm.
1624. John Gee, in Shaks. Cent. Pr., 160. The third abatement of the honor and continuance of this Scenicall company is, that they make their spectators pay to deare for their Income.
1625. Bacon, Essays, viii. 267. He hath a great Charge of Children: As if it were an Abatement to his Riches.
1722. De Foe, Hist. Plague (1756), 183. All the Abatement I could get was only, that … I should be obliged to hold it but three Weeks.
1858. Ld. St. Leonards, Hbk. on Property Law, ii. 7. Equity will compel him to take it, and will allow him a proper abatement out of the purchase-money.
1866. Rogers, Agric. & Prices, I. xxviii. 677. The farmer obtained for the three years an abatement of two marks.
4. Heraldry. A supposed mark of depreciation.
1610. Guillim, Display of Heraldrie, viii. § 1. 31 (1611). An Abatement is an accidentall mark annexed to coat-armour denoting some vngentleman-like, dishonorable, or disloiall demeanour qualitie or staine in the bearer whereby the dignitie of the coate-armour is greatly abased.
1741. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. It is a little controverted among authors, whether heraldry allows of any such thing as regular Abatements.… The last editor of Guillim discards the whole notion of Abatements, as a chimæra.
