2. His abrupt (brusque) answer was obviously made in anger and it hurt her feelings.
3. The car came to an abrupt (unexpected) stop at the barricade.
4. The cliff made an abrupt (steep) descent to the sea.
Rumpere, in Latin, means "to break, to burst". With the prefix ab, "off", Latin formed abrumpere, "to break off".
The past participle abruptus resulted in the English word abrupt, "broken off". In Modern English this meaning has been applied figuratively to the manner of a person who speaks or acts suddenly and curtly, or to things that change suddenly; "breaking off" unexpectedly.
Rupture is an English word that still retains the literal meaning of "breaking", as do disrupt and interrupt, all derived from the same rumpere.
"The open-air concert came to an abrupt end when the rain storm started."
2. Surprisingly curt; brusque; such as, an abrupt answer made in anger: "Leonard's abrupt reply hurt the couple's feelings.""In an effort to avoid appearing abrupt in her mannerisms, the teacher smiled in a friendly fashion."
3. Touching on one subject after another with sudden transitions: abrupt prose: "The speaker made abrupt references to several different topics during the few minutes he spoke."4. Steeply inclined; having a sharp inclination; precipitous: "The cliff made an abrupt descent to the sea."
5. In botany, terminating suddenly rather than gradually; truncate: an abrupt leaf: "The stem of the leaf became abrupt and narrowed close to the main branch of the tree."
6. Etymology: made up of ab-, "off" + rumpere, "to break", "to break off".
Rumpere, in Latin, means "to break, to burst". With the prefix ab, "off", Latin formed abrumpere, "to break off". The past participle abruptus gives the English word abrupt, "broken off".
In Modern English, this meaning has been applied figuratively to the manner of a person who speaks or acts suddenly and curtly, or to things that change suddenly; such as, "breaking off" unexpectedly.
Rupture is an English word that still retains the literal meaning of "bursting", as do disrupt and interrupt, all are derived from the same rumpere.
