destroy English · revision 4709

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1200|origins=la destruere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪˈstrɔɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|destruen]], later destroien,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|destruire|t=to destroy, ravage, lay waste]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Vulgar Latin *dēstrūgere, a refashioning influenced by the past participle dēstrūctus^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) of Latin [[m|la|dēstruere|t=to tear down, demolish]], literally “to unbuild”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from dē- “un-, down” and struere “to pile up, build”,^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[ine-pro|*sterh₃-|alt=*stere-|t=to spread]].^(Etymonline) Italian distruggere is from the same Vulgar Latin verb.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[destruction]], [[structure]] and [[construct]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To overthrow, lay waste or ruin: probably before 1200 in Barnhart, in the Ancrene Riwle,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The OED has “to lay waste, ravage” from before 1225, and “to pull down what has been built” from 1297.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From about 1300 it was used for killing living beings and for putting an end to something, such as an institution.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) To break into useless pieces is from about 1314,^(OED 1989) and to make useless or spoil from 1542.^(OED 1989) In law, to make invalid, it is from 1818.^(OED 1989) To defeat completely, as in sport, is a later informal sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) ''Destroyer'' is before 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1200 – to lay waste, ruin.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1297 – to pull down.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – to kill; to put an end to.^(Etymonline)

+ * a. 1382 – ''destroyer''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1542 – to make useless.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1818 – in law, to invalidate.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To damage something so badly that it no longer exists or works.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put an end to; to [[ruin]]: ''destroy someone's hopes''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To [[kill]] an animal, especially one that is sick or dangerous.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To defeat completely.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[destroyable]]

+ * [[undestroyed]]

+ * [[destroyer]]

+ * [[destroyer escort]]

+ * [[destroying angel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[destruct]]

+ * [[destructible]]

+ * [[destruction]]

+ * [[destructive]]

+ * [[structure]]

+ * [[construct]]

+ * [[instruct]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}