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Definition of: abscission
(ab·sizh′ən, sish′ən) noun
1. The act of cutting off or the state of being cut off or removed.
2. Bot. The shedding of parts of a plant by the action of certain cells located in the branch or bark; also, the freeing of a fungus spore through breakdown of a portion of its stalk.
3. In rhetoric, an abrupt breaking off for effect, as in the middle of a sentence. Compare APOSIOPESIS. [<L abscissio, -onis <abscindere.
See ABSCIND.]
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