Excerebrate
/ɪkˈsɛr.əˌbreɪt/noun
To remove the brain from; by extension, to make someone senseless or stupid.
Did you know?Excerebrate comes from the same Latin brain-root as “cerebral” and “cerebellum,” and its prefix ex- makes it feel like a ritual of extraction rather than a simple insult.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
ex- + cerebrum
“out of + brain”
Late Latin
Latin
excerebrare
“to remove the brain from”
16th–17th Century
English
excerebrate
“to deprive of the brain; to make senseless”
Modern English
English
excerebrate
“to remove the brain from; to make dull or stupid”
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