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exterminatio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word exterminatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
220 after 220 AD, Itala More words from the 3rd century
Ultimate origin
Latin exterminō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin terminus
French terme
English terminus
German Termin
Spanish término
Latin terminō
French terminer
Spanish terminar
Latin exterminō
Latin exterminātiō
English extermination
From the same root
Latin conterminus ← terminus
Latin terminālis ← terminus
Latin dēterminō ← terminō
Latin terminātiō ← terminō
Latin terminātor ← terminō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛk.stɛr.mɪˈnaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ek.ster.miˈnat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

exterminātiō f (genitive exterminātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin exterminō (“to drive out; to destroy”) + -tiō.[2][1] The verb is built on ex (“out of”) and termen (“boundary”),[3] which goes back to Proto-Italic *ter-mn- (“boundary stone”) and Proto-Indo-European *ter-mn- (“peg, post”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL records it from the Old Latin Bible (Itala) on, for the expulsion of peoples;[2][5] Augustine writes of the promise of God that the exterminatio gentium would happen as the Israelites grew in number.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In the Vulgate it means destruction.[6] In Medieval Latin it is banishment and exclusion, killing and extirpation,[7][8] in alchemy and pharmacy the evaporation of a substance,[7] and, by confusion with terminus, a boundary: Du Cange quotes a charter of 865 with exterminatio for a limit.[9][10][7] In Leonardo Bruni it is the wasting of a pale face.[11] English took it as exterminacioun in the mid-15th century for “repulsion”, and for utter destruction in the 1540s.[3]

Timeline

  • after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible (Itala) has it.[2][5]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for the driving out of nations.[2][5]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for destruction.[6][5]
  • 865 – A charter uses it for a boundary.[9]
  • mid-15th century – English borrows it as exterminacioun.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) Expulsion, banishment.[2][1][8]
  2. (Late Latin) Destruction, extermination.[6][1][8]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Evaporation (in alchemy and pharmacy).[7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A boundary.[10][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b c 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
  9. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  11. ^ Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
Cite this entry

“Exterminatio.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exterminatio. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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