extermination
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word extermination. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word extermination, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say extermination in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word extermination you have here. The definition of the word extermination will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofextermination, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French extermination, itself a learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin exterminātiō.
Pronunciation
Noun
extermination (countable and uncountable, plural exterminations)
- The act of exterminating; total destruction or eradication.
- extermination of error or vice
- extermination of weeds from a field
- Depending on the case, extermination of a group of people may constitute genocide or crime against humanity.
- 1941 January, C. Hamilton Ellis, “The Scottish Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 3:
- Caley locomotive types, especially such numerous things as McIntosh goods and tank engines, have defied extermination over a good many years now.
- Elimination.
Synonyms
- (total destruction): excision
Derived terms
Translations
the act of exterminating
|
French
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin exterminātiōnem. By surface analysis, exterminer + -ation.
Pronunciation
Noun
extermination f (plural exterminations)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “extermination”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.