Extinction
/ɪkˈstɪŋk.ʃən/noun
The state of being completely gone; the dying out of a species, flame, or line.
Did you know?Extinction comes from Latin exstinguere, a verb used for both quenching fire and metaphorically wiping out life, so the word has carried a built-in image of annihilation for centuries.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*steig-
“to prick, pierce, or stick”
Latin
Latin
stinguere
“to extinguish, quench, or dampen”
Latin
Latin
exstinguere
“to quench out, put out entirely”
Late Latin
Latin
extinctiō
“a quenching; a putting out”
Middle English
English
extincioun
“the act of extinguishing or putting out”
Modern English
English
extinction
“the state or process of dying out completely”
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