Where does “destructor” come from?
Destructor comes from English destruct, which derives from Latin dēstruere meaning "to tear down or destroy."
destructor (English): One who destructs; A furnace or oven for the...
Definitions
- One who destructs; A furnace or oven for the...
Ancestry of “destructor”, step by step
destructor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English destruct
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | destruct | To intentionally cause the destruction of; To... |
| 2 | English | destruction | The act of destroying; The results of a... |
| 3 | Middle English | destruccioun | Destruction; the act of destroying or being destroyed |
| 4 | Old French | destrucion | destruction |
| 5 | Latin | destructio | destruction, demolition; refutation |
| 6 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 7 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 8 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 9 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 10 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 11 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 12 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English ‐or
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ‐or | Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed |
| 2 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 3 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 4 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 5 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |