Etymologically
Log in

derelict

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 04:15. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɛr.ə.lɪkt/ (UK); /ˈdɛɹəˌlɪk(t)/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dērelictus (“forsaken, deserted”),[2][3][4][5][6] the past participle of dērelinquere “to abandon”,[2][3][4][5] from Latin dē- (“entirely”) + relinquere (“to leave behind”),[2][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *leikw- (“to leave”).[5] Barnhart allows a passage through obsolete French derelict.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Forsaken, abandoned by the owner or guardian, especially of a ship abandoned at sea (1649).[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

As a noun it meant abandoned property, especially a ship (1670),[7][3][5] and then an abandoned or forsaken person (1728).[7][5] In law it is also land left dry by a receding water line.[2][3][6] American usage from 1864 applied it to people guilty of neglecting their duty.[7][5] The sense “run-down, dilapidated” and the noun “a destitute homeless person” followed.[2][3][6]

Timeline

  • 1622 – verb, to abandon (obsolete).[7]
  • 1649 – adjective, abandoned, especially of a ship.[7][3][4]
  • 1670 – noun, abandoned property.[7][3][4]
  • 1728 – an abandoned or forsaken person.[7][5]
  • 1864 – (US) neglectful of duty.[7][5]
  • 1888 – (US) someone guilty of neglecting their duty.[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Abandoned by the owner or occupant; deserted.
  2. Run-down; dilapidated.
  3. Neglectful of duty; negligent.

Noun

  1. Abandoned property, especially a ship abandoned at sea.
  2. A destitute homeless person; a vagrant.
  3. (law) Land left dry by a permanent change in the water line.
  4. Someone guilty of neglecting a duty.

Word family

  • derelictly
  • derelictness
  • dereliction
  • relic
  • relict
  • relinquish

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press