Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “erase” come from?

Erase comes from Latin erasus, the past participle of eradere, meaning to scratch or scrape out, formed from the prefix ex- and the verb radere, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to scrape or scratch.

erase (English): to remove markings or information; To obliterate...

Definitions

  1. to remove markings or information; To obliterate...

Ancestry of “erase”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinerasusscratched out, scraped off, erased; abolished,...
2Latinērādere—

Words derived from “erase”

  • eraser
  • erasable
  • unerasable
  • nonerasable
  • inerasable
  • erasability
  • unerase
  • erasement
  • eraserlike
  • unerasably
  • eraseth
  • erasably
  • erasest
Every word from Latin ērādere →