abrogate
to abolish or repeal formally
Roots
- ab / abs: away, from, off, down, or apart
- rog / rogat: ask, request, propose, or put a question formally
Other words with the rog / rogat root
- derogatory: showing a critical or belittling attitude
- interrogate: to question someone closely
- prerogative: a special right or privilege
Abrogate has two useful parts: ab means away, and rog / rogat carries formal asking or proposing. To abrogate is to formally do away with a rule, law, or agreement.
The court refused to abrogate the treaty without a clear legal basis.
Abrogate is a legal-feeling word because rog / rogat once lived near formal asking, proposing, and public decisions. Add ab, away, and the word becomes the act of formally pushing a rule away: repealing it, abolishing it, or making it no longer bind.