Where does “extermination” come from?
extermination (Middle French) comes from Latin exterminatio, from Latin exterminō, from Latin terminō, from Latin Terminus, from Proto-Indo-European ter-, from Italian termine, from Latin terminus, from Proto-Italic termenos — boundary, end.
Ancestry of “extermination”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | exterminatio | destruction; banishment |
| 2 | Latin | exterminō | to expel, exile or banish |
| 3 | Latin | terminō | to mark off by boundaries, set bounds to; bound, limit |
| 4 | Latin | Terminus | the deity presiding over boundaries; a personification of the term terminus |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ter- | tender, weak; young creature |
| 6 | Italian | termine | end, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word |
| 7 | Latin | terminus | a boundary, limit, end |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | termenos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | térmn̥ | boundary, end |