eradicatio

Forms

ērādīcātiō f (genitive ērādīcātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ērādīcō (“to root out”) + -tiō.^[1][2][3] The verb is made from ex- and rādīx (“root”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Tertullian on,^[2][3] who wrote about 160–220 AD,^[5] in the treatise on the resurrection of the flesh, where it means a rooting out.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Christian Latin it kept the image of uprooting but was mostly used figuratively, for utter destruction.^[2] The Vulgate has it in Isaiah, and in Lamentations eradicationem posuisti me means “you have made me an example of utter destruction”.^[3] Jerome explains the place name Accaron as meaning “eradication”.^[2]

Medieval texts use it both literally, of uprooting trees and weeds,^[6] of removing old timber and of plucking wool,^[7] and figuratively, of destroying, abolishing or ending something.^[6][7] English borrowed it in the 15th century.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of rooting out.^[2][3][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of utter destruction.^[3][5]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome interprets the name Accaron as “eradication”.^[2][5]
• 992/993 – An Austrian charter uses it of uprooting trees.^[6]
• 1336 – Canterbury manor accounts use it of removing the old timber of a mill.^[7]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as eradicacioun.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A rooting out, uprooting.^[3][2][6]
2. Utter destruction, annihilation.^[1][3][2]
3. (Medieval Latin) Removal of a structure; plucking of wool.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) Abolition, ending.^[6]

Related words

• ērādīcō
• rādīx

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c d 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