vandal English · revision 200
5 Oct 2026, 22:15 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈvændəl/^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− Named after the Vandals, the Germanic tribe that sacked Rome in 455 under Genseric.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) It is [[bor|la-lat|Vandalus]] (plural ''Vandalī''),^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) a Latinized tribal name of Germanic origin,^(RHWU)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) perhaps from Proto-Germanic ''*wandljaz'' “wanderer”.^(Etymonline)
+ Named after the Vandals, the Germanic tribe that sacked Rome in 455 under Genseric.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) It is [[bor|la-lat|Vandalus]] (plural ''Vandalī''),^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) a Latinized tribal name of Germanic origin,^(RHWU)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) perhaps from Proto-Germanic ''*wandljaz'' “wanderer”.^(Etymonline) The tribe's name appears in Old English as ''Wendlas'';^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) in Middle English they were the ''Wandalinges''.^(Etymonline)
− The historical sense is recorded from the 1550s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the sense “wilful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable” from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders; their reputation grew during the Enlightenment, when Rome was idealized.^(Wiktionary)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A member of the Germanic people that invaded Western Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries (1550s).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The sense “wilful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable” dates from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders; their reputation grew during the Enlightenment, when Rome was idealized.^(Wiktionary) The 1926 ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' found no justification in the capture of Rome for the charge of wilful destruction, and suggested that it grew out of the Vandal king's persecution of Catholic Christians.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1530 – Merriam-Webster's date.^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1555 – a member of the Germanic tribe.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1613 – adjective, “of the Vandals”.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1660s – “a wilful destroyer of what is beautiful”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1971 – ''vandal-proof''.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A person who deliberately damages or destroys public or private property.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(capitalized)'' A member of the Germanic people that sacked Rome in 455.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Of the Vandals; destructive.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[Vandalic]]
+ * [[vandalistic]]
+ * [[vandalise]]
+ * [[vandalize]]
+ * [[vandalism]]
==References==