(of certain muscles) to pull (a leg, arm, etc) away from the median axis of the body
Compare adduct
abduce in American English
(æbˈduːs, -ˈdjuːs)
transitive verbWord forms: -duced, -ducing
Physiology
to draw or take away; abduct
Word origin
[1530–40; ‹ L abdūcere, equiv. to ab-ab- + dūcere to lead]This word is first recorded in the period 1530–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: analogy, area, enclosure, saturate, starterab- is a formal element occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “away from”.Other words that use the affix ab- include: abdicate, abolition