ab
part of speech
noun (an ab, abs — informal); abbreviation (ab, AB)
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal) An ab is one of the stomach muscles; people usually say «abs», short for «abdominal muscles». tree →
2) AB is a blood group (type AB). tree →
3) (abbreviation) Ab can stand for other things, such as Alberta in Canadian addresses (AB) or «able seaman» (AB) on ships. tree →
4) (Latin) «ab» means «from», as in «ab initio» (from the beginning). tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Sefer Yetzirah, Ab is the name of a Hebrew month, the fifth in the Jewish calendar (also written Av). In the book of Daniel the same letters begin the name Abed-nego, one of the three friends thrown into the furnace, so there it is part of a person's name and not the month. Interpretation: Tradition links Ab with the letter Teth, the sign Leo and the left kidney. It is the month when the Temple was destroyed, and the ninth of Ab is a day of mourning. In the primary lessons: Used in PE and health lessons («ab exercises», «work your abs»), in science about blood groups, and in addresses.
examples
- A Version by Saadiah, ab. ben David, and three others, Mantua, 1562, 4to. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- The twelve months of the year are: Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tamus, Ab, Elul, Tishri, Marcheshvan, Kislev, Teves, Schevat and Adar. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- He produced Teth, predominant in Hearing, crowned, combined, and formed Leo in the world, Ab in the year, and the left kidney in man. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
- Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon. (Writings DAN.3.30, JPS 1917) tree →
- Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. (Writings DAN.3.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. (Writings DAN.3.23, JPS 1917) tree →
- Sit-ups make your abs stronger. tree →
- The PE teacher showed us an ab stretch. tree →
- The superhero had big muscles and six-pack abs. tree →
- My blood group is AB. tree →
- People with type AB blood can receive blood from any group. tree →
- The parcel was sent to Calgary, AB. tree →
note
Mostly a clipped form of «abdominal»; usually plural «abs». «Six-pack» is slang for clearly visible stomach muscles. As a blood group it is written in capitals: AB. Not a full English word on its own in normal writing.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «ab» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.