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détruire

Etymology and origin of the French word détruire

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (destruire)
Inherited from
Latin *destrugo via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (struō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.tʁɥiʁ/[1]

Forms

détruire[1] Old French destruire; the Académie gave destruire in 1694 and 1718, détruire from 1740.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French destruire, from popular Latin inherited from Vulgar Latin *dēstrūgō, a remaking of classical dēstruō (“to pull down; to destroy”) on its perfect “dēstrūxī” and its participle “dēstrūctus”.[2][3][4][5][6][1] The Latin verb is the opposite, with dē-, of struō (“to build”) (see structure).[3][5]

Compare Old Occitan destruir, Spanish destruir and Italian distruggere.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) destruire means to pull down a building.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the Chanson de Roland it already means “to annihilate, make disappear”.[2][3] It was used of killing a living being (1135), of undoing what was established (1172–74) and, in the 13th century, of discrediting someone.[2][3] Soi destruire meant to harm oneself (end of the 13th century); se détruire took the reciprocal sense “to cancel each other out” in Corneille (1648) and “to commit suicide” in Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1784).[3][2] S'entre-détruire is from 1559 and s'autodétruire from about 1950.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Destruire, Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1100 – “To annihilate”, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1121 – Destructiun.[3]
  • 1135 – To kill, Couronnement de Louis.[2]
  • 1559 – S'entre-détruire.[3]
  • 1784 – Se détruire, to commit suicide.[2]
  • c. 1950 – S'autodétruire.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To destroy, demolish: détruire un bâtiment.[1][8]
  2. To ruin, devastate: l'incendie a détruit la récolte.[8]
  3. To do away with, abolish: détruire une institution.[2][3]
  4. To kill, wipe out: détruire les parasites.[2][3]
  5. To ruin (a person, a reputation): l'alcool l'a détruit.[2][3]
  6. Se détruire: to destroy oneself; to cancel each other out, (dated) to commit suicide.[3][2]

Word family

  • s'autodétruire
  • s'entre-détruire
  • destructeur
  • destructif
  • destruction
  • indestructible
  • construire
  • structure

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 56a
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Détruire.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9truire. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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