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extermination

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle French extermination, itself a learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin exterminātiō.

Pronunciation

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  • Rhymes: -eɪʃən
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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extermination (countable and uncountable, plural exterminations)

  1. 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.
  2. Elimination.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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French

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French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin exterminātiōnem. By surface analysis, exterminer +‎ -ation.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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extermination f (plural exterminations)

  1. extermination

Derived terms

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Further reading

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