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annihilatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word annihilatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 383–420 Jerome More words from the 4th century
Ultimate origin
Latin annihilō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin hīlum
Latin nihilum
Latin annihilō
Latin annihilātiō
English annihilation
From the same root
Latin nihil ← nihilum

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [an.ni.(ɦ)ɪˈɫaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [an.ni.kiˈlat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

annihilātiō f (genitive annihilātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin annihilō (“to reduce to nothing”) + -tiō.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jerome uses it in a letter (106.27) for making nothing of something, that is, for disdain;[2] a glossary renders it with a Greek word for contempt.[2]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin the word meant above all destruction or undoing, of property, rights or people:[4][5][6] Hungarian charters use it for the destruction of boundary marks, mills and fruit trees, and also for the killing or extermination of people.[5] In law it came to mean the annulment of an act,[5][7] and in philosophy the reduction of a thing to nothing.[4] Medieval spellings include adnihilacio, anichilacio and annichilacio.[5][6]

English took over the word in the 1630s, from French or directly from Medieval Latin.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it for disdain.[2][7]
  • 1305 – An English record speaks of the delay and adnihilacio of a debt.[4]
  • 1329 – A Hungarian charter uses it for the destruction of boundary marks.[5]
  • 1439 – A Scottish record speaks of the manifest ruin of merchants.[4]
  • 1630s – English borrows it as annihilation.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) A making nothing of something, disdain.[2][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Destruction, undoing, ruin.[4][5][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin, law) Annulment, the making void of an act.[5][7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) The killing or extermination of people.[5]
  5. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) Annihilation, reduction to nothing.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  6. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Annihilatio.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/annihilatio. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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