Afstoot

Afstoot is a Dutch noun that denotes the act or result of pushing away, repelling, or expelling something. The word is built from the prefix af- (“away”) and stoot (“push, shove”). In standard use, afstoot describes a physical act of pushing something away, as well as figurative rejection or expulsion.

Etymologically, afstoot conveys a sense of separation or removal, and in many contexts it refers to a force or action that drives an object away from another body or from a position.

In science and technology, afstoot is used to describe repulsion between objects, such as electrostatic repulsion between like charges or magnetic repulsion. The term appears in discussions of forces that push bodies apart and in explanations of interaction between particles or components.

In medicine, afstoting refers to the rejection of a transplanted organ. While afstoting is the standard clinical term for transplant rejection, afstoot may appear in some non-technical writings as a more general or informal reference to rejection processes.

In botany, afstoting can be used to describe abscission—the detachment of leaves, fruits, or other plant parts. Although abscission is the technical term, afstoting may be encountered in older or broader texts to express the same concept of shedding.

Overall, afstoot functions as a general term for pushing away or rejecting, with specific technical uses in physics, medicine, and botany depending on context.