abaissée

Abaissée is the feminine form of the past participle of the French verb abaisser, meaning to lower or to reduce. When used as an adjective, abaissée describes something that has been lowered or reduced and agrees with the noun’s gender and number: une porte abaissée, une température abaissée, des valeurs abaissées. The masculine form is abaissé, the feminine plural abaissées.

The verb abaisser comes from Old French abaissier, from bas meaning low, with a prefix a- historically used to form verbs. The participle abaissé/abaissée has long been used in French to express a lowered state or value.

Usage notes: As a past participle used adjectivally, abaissée denotes that something has been lowered or decreased relative to a prior state. It is common in contexts describing physical alteration or numerical reductions: prix abaissé, taux abaissé, température abaissée, porte abaissée. It is the feminine form; the masculine form abaissé is used with masculine nouns, and the plural forms abaissées or abaissés agree with feminine or masculine nouns respectively.

Examples: Une porte abaissée laisse passer moins de lumière. La température abaissée de trois degrés a réduit la consommation d’énergie. Les valeurs abaissées du barème reflètent une révision tarifaire.

See also: abaisser, abaissé, abaissable, bas.