A Latin phrase meaning 'may it be absent' or 'God forbid'; used to express a wish to avoid something bad.
From Latin absit, the subjunctive form of abesse (to be away), literally meaning 'let it be away/absent.' Used throughout medieval Latin texts and legal documents as a formulaic expression.
Absit is a perfect example of a dead language's compression—it crams 'may [misfortune] be far from us' into one word, and medieval scribes loved it because it saved parchment, which was expensive and worth every saved character.
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