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) ]