spoiler

Etymology

It is formed from English spoil + -er.^[2][3][4][5] Spoil is from Middle English spoilen, from Anglo-Norman espoiller and Old French espoillier (“to strip, plunder”), and directly from Latin spoliō (“to strip, rob, plunder”),^[3][6] a verb from spolium (“arms taken from an enemy, booty”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A robber or plunderer: in a Wycliffite text of about 1400, as spoliars.^[5][3] The OED's first record is Coverdale's Bible of 1535.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) knew only "a robber; a plunderer; a pillager".^[7] The wider sense, one who or that which spoils or mars something, is recorded from 1577.^[2] In boxing a spoiler was an inferior fighter who sets out to disrupt an opponent's style, by 1936 according to Etymonline, 1948 in the OED;^[3][2] from 1950 in the United States the word was used in sport for a competitor who cannot win but spoils another's chance, and by 1957 in politics.^[3][2] In aeronautics, from 1928, it is a flap that breaks the smooth airflow over a wing and so increases drag, named because it spoils the lift;^[2][3] the name passed to similar structures on speedboats (1957) and cars (1963).^[3][2] A spoiler that reveals the plot of a film or book is recorded in 1971 by the OED and by 1982 by Etymonline.^[2][3] Further specialised uses followed: an electronic device that prevents unauthorised recording (1979)^[2][8] and, in journalism, a story published to blunt the impact of a rival's (1985).^[2][9]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – a robber, a plunderer.^[5][3]
• 1535 – plunderer, in Coverdale's Bible.^[2]
• 1577 – one who or that which spoils or mars.^[2]
• 1928 – a flap on an aircraft wing.^[2][3]
• 1936 – in boxing, a fighter who disrupts an opponent's style (1948 in the OED).^[3][2]
• 1950 – in US sport, one who cannot win but mars another's chance.^[2][3]
• 1963 – a structure on a car that reduces lift.^[2][3]
• 1971 – a revelation of a film's or book's plot.^[2]
• 1979 – a device that prevents unauthorised recording.^[2]
• 1985 – a news story published to spoil a rival's.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A candidate or competitor with little chance of winning who can still prevent another from winning.^[10][4][9]
2. A piece of information that gives away the plot or a surprise of a film, book or programme: Stop reading now if you want to avoid spoilers.^[10][9][2]
3. A long, narrow plate or flap that can be raised on the upper surface of an aircraft wing to increase drag and reduce lift.^[4][11][2]
4. A similar structure on a car, meant to keep the wheels pressed to the road at high speed.^[11][2]
5. A news story or publication brought out to reduce the impact of a rival's.^[9][11][2]
6. In boxing, a fighter who uses spoiling tactics to disrupt an opponent's style.^[11][2]
7. One that spoils, damages or ruins something.^[4][9]
8. A plunderer or robber.^[11][4][2]

Related words

• spoil
• spoils
• despoil
• spoliation

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ 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)
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ Knowles, Elizabeth; Elliott, Julia, eds. (1997), The Oxford Dictionary of New Words, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins