Exterminate
/ɪkˈstɜːr.mə.neɪt/noun
To destroy or get rid of completely.
Did you know?Exterminate comes from Latin ex- (“out”) + terminus (“boundary, limit”), so its oldest sense was literally to push something beyond the edge—language turning a border into a weapon.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ter-
“to rub, turn, or pass across; the root behind boundary-marking and crossing ideas”
Latin
Latin
terminus
“a boundary, limit, or border marker”
Latin
Latin
exterminare
“to drive out beyond the boundaries; to banish”
Late Latin
Latin
exterminatus
“driven out, banished”
Middle English
English
exterminen
“to drive out, banish, or destroy”
Modern English
English
exterminate
“to destroy completely or eradicate”
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