Word of the Week

[TotallyOz]

abrogate \AB-ruh-gayt\, transitive verb:

1. To annul or abolish by an authoritative act.

2. To put an end to; to do away with.

He also knows that failure to secure a clear unionist majority will leave the UUP [ulster Unionist Party] leader vulnerable to those pressing for an assembly manifesto which would effectively threaten to abrogate the agreement.

-- "Politeness could not mask gulf within the UUP", Irish Times, May 20, 1998

The Court had made clear that the Federal Government was one of "limited and enumerated powers," Brann said, adding, "One of those powers is not to abrogate a state's immunity in its own courts."

-- Linda Greenhouse, "Justices Seem Ready to Tilt More Toward States in Federalism", New York Times, April 1, 1999

So why is Washington seeking to abrogate the ABM Treaty, to push ahead with its anti-ballistic missile Star Wars programme?

-- Simon Jenkins, "Thanks so much for having me, Mr Blair", Times (London), April 19, 2000

Abrogate derives from Latin abrogare, "to repeal a law wholly, to annul," from ab-, "away from" + rogare, "to ask, to inquire, to question; also, to propose a law."

[AdamSmith]

Somehow sounds like the latest political scandal!

"Larry Craig's stall door has been nicknamed The Abrogate."