Etymologically
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eradicate

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪˈɹæd.ɪ.keɪt/[1]
  • US: /əˈræd.əˌkeɪt/, /iˈræd.əˌkeɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English eradicaten,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin ērādīcātus, the past participle of ērādīcō (“to root out, extirpate”),[3][5][6] formed from ē- (“out”), a form of ex- before r, and rādīx (“root”).[3][6][7] The Latin noun is the source of radical and radish and is related to root.[7] Ayto calls eradicate an analogous formation to uproot,[7] and Etymonline notes the native Middle English equivalent outroten (“to root out”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To root out, of an ulcer, in the Middle English translation of Chauliac's surgery, before 1425, where it is glossed out roted and vnroted.[2][3] The OED, not fully revised, has an adjective eradicate, rooted out, from 1533,[6] and its first record of the verb, "to pull up by the roots", is from Bullein in 1564;[6] Merriam-Webster dates the verb to 1532.[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries the word was often used literally of plants and trees, but since then the figurative "remove totally" has taken over.[7] The OED records "to remove entirely, get rid of" from 1647,[6] and the Shorter Oxford from the early 17th century.[9] Johnson (1755) gave both, "to pull up by the root" and "to completely destroy".[10] A mathematical sense, to extract the square root of a number, is recorded only in 1610.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1425 – to root out (an ulcer), in Middle English.[2][3]
  • 1533 – adjective, rooted out (obsolete by 1556).[6]
  • 1564 – to pull up by the roots.[6]
  • 1610 – mathematics, to extract the square root (obsolete).[6]
  • 1647 – to remove entirely, to get rid of.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To do away with something completely; to destroy, obliterate or stamp out: The campaign aimed to eradicate the disease within a decade.[11][8][6]
  2. To pull up a plant, such as a weed, by the roots; to uproot.[11][8][6]

Word family

  • eradicable
  • eradication
  • eradicative
  • eradicator

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  8. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins