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DictionaryRoot: ab-
Latin

ab-

away, off, from

Forms

  • ab-
  • abs- — Expanded Latin form, especially before t.
  • a- — Shortened in some Latin compounds.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *apo, ‘away; off.’

Note

The Greek prefix apo- is a relative from the same older source, not a borrowing from Latin.

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noun

aberration

ab-uh-RAY-shuhn/ˌæbəˈreɪʃn/

A departure from what is normal or expected.

One crooked tile is an aberration in the otherwise straight pattern.

A single crooked tile interrupts a regular straight tiled pattern.
Etymology
abLatinaway, off, from
+errLatinwander, stray, or go wrong
+ationLatinan action, process, or result

An aberration was originally a wandering away from a path. That image became a departure from the normal or expected course, rather than necessarily a physical loss of direction.

In context

FRONTLINE PBS | Official38:07
Some of the officials at Florida Housing say that this was a one-time thing, this was an aberration.
Poverty, Politics and Profit (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

More examples

  • The analyst treats the sudden spike as an aberration.
  • One rude remark was an aberration in his otherwise courteous behavior.
  • The technician checks the lens for optical aberrations.

Forms

aberration · aberrations

Similar words

anomaly
Emphasizes something that does not fit an expected pattern.
deviation
A departure that need not be unusual or troubling.