ablation -
n. 1 the surgical removal of body tissue.
2 Geol. the wasting or erosion of a glacier, iceberg, or rock by melting or the action of water.
3 Astronaut. the evaporation or melting of part of the
outer surface of a spacecraft through heating
by friction with the atmosphere.
ablate v.tr. [F ablation or LL ablatio f. L ablat- (as AB-, lat- past part. stem of ferre carry)]
