Meaning

noun a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance

noun a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory

verb consider a concept without thinking of a specific example; consider abstractly or theoretically

originFrom Middle English abstract, borrowed from Latin abstractus, perfect passive participle of abstrahō (“draw away”), formed from abs- (“away”) + trahō (“to pull, draw”). The verbal sense is first attested in 1542.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0