3. (Rhet.) A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly: thus, "He is a man of so much honor and candor, and of such generosity -- but I need say no more."
Ab*scond" (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Absconded; p. pr. & vb. n. Absconding.] [L. abscondere to hide; ab, abs + condere to lay up; con + dre (only in comp.) to put. Cf. Do.] 1. To hide, withdraw, or be concealed.
The marmot absconds all winter.
Ray.
2. To depart clandestinely; to steal off and secrete one's self; -- used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid a legal process; as, an absconding debtor.
That very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond.
Macaulay.
Ab*scond", v. t. To hide; to conceal. [Obs.] Bentley.
Ab*scond"ence (&?;), n. Fugitive concealment; secret retirement; hiding. [R.] Phillips.
Ab*scond"er (&?;), n. One who absconds.
Ab"sence (&?;), n. [F., fr. L. absentia. See Absent.] 1. A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; -- opposed to presence.
Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.
Phil. ii. 12.