To wear away or scrape off the surface of something through friction or rubbing.
From Latin 'abradere' (ab- 'away' + radere 'to scrape'), which evolved through Old French into English by the 16th century.
The word's Latin root 'radere' gave us dozens of English words like 'erase,' 'razor,' and 'grade'—all involving scraping or removing layers, showing how one ancient idea branched into our modern vocabulary.
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