exterminate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   kill en masse

   The word exterminate appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.

2. 2
   verb

   destroy completely, as if down to the roots

   The word exterminate appears in scientific writing with a precise technical sense.

3. 3
   verb

   To kill or otherwise permanently eliminate all of (a population of pests or undesirables), usually intentionally.

   We'll use poison to exterminate the rats.

Simplified etymology

Exterminate entered English in late Middle English from Latin, where it meant “drive out” or “banish,” and was formed from ex- “out” and terminus “boundary.” English initially retained that sense; the meaning “destroy” appeared in the mid-16th century under the influence of the Latin Vulgate Bible.

Borrowed from Latin exterminātus, perfect passive participle of exterminō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ex- (“thoroughly”) + terminō (“to finish, close, end”), from terminus (“limit, end”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary