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extirpate

[ek-ster-peyt, ik-stur-peyt]
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verb (used with object), ex·tir·pat·ed, ex·tir·pat·ing.
  1. to remove or destroy totally; do away with; exterminate.
  2. to pull up by or as if by the roots; root up: to extirpate an unwanted hair.
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Origin of extirpate

1530–40; < Latin ex(s)tirpātus plucked up by the stem (past participle of ex(s)tirpāre), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + stirp- (stem of stirps) stem + -ātus -ate1
Related formsex·tir·pa·tion, nounex·tir·pa·tive, adjectiveex·tir·pa·tor, nounun·ex·tir·pat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for extirpate

Historical Examples

  • Every attempt to subdue or extirpate them, has proved abortive.

    Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I

    Francis Augustus Cox

  • Many causes have combined to extirpate the shy and spirited fish.

    Angling Sketches

    Andrew Lang

  • The duty to extirpate and destroy it is admitted even by our doctors of divinity.

    My Bondage and My Freedom

    Frederick Douglass

  • I will extirpate that nest of vipersthat horde of remorseless banditti!

    Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf

    George W. M. Reynolds

  • The gentry want to extirpate us by means of poison, we will extirpate them with fire and sword.

    The Day of Wrath

    Maurus Jkai

British Dictionary definitions for extirpate

extirpate

verb (tr)
  1. to remove or destroy completely
  2. to pull up or out; uproot
  3. to remove (an organ or part) surgically
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Derived Formsextirpation, nounextirpative, adjectiveextirpator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin exstirpāre to root out, from stirps root, stock
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for extirpate

v.

1530s, usually figurative, from Latin extirpatus/exstirpatus, past participle of extirpare/exstirpare (see extirpation). Related: Extirpated; extirpating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper