c.1400, "withdrawal from worldly affairs, asceticism," from Old French abstraction (14c.), from Latin abstractionem (nominative abstractio), noun of action from past participle stem of abstrahere (see abstract (adj.)). Meaning "idea of something that has no actual existence" is from 1640s.
abstraction ab·strac·tion (āb-strāk'shən, əb-)
n.
Distillation or separation of the volatile constituents of a substance.
Exclusive mental concentration; absent-mindedness.
A malocclusion in which the teeth or associated structures are lower than their normal occlusal plane.
The selection of a certain aspect of a concept from the whole.