English
destroyer
Destroyer comes from Old French destruire ‘to destroy’, from Latin struo ‘put together’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew, to spread out’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to strew, to spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréwetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowō‘to pile up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruo‘put together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēstruere
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CE*dēstrūgerereconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400destruire‘to destroy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500destroyen‘to destroy, ruin’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400destruieur
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500destroyour‘a despoiler or devastator’
- Englishearliest quotation 1901destroyer
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to strew, to spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréwetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowō‘to pile up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruo‘put together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēstruere
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CE*dēstrūgerereconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400destruire‘to destroy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500destroyen‘to destroy, ruin’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400destruieur
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500destroyour‘a despoiler or devastator’
- Englishearliest quotation 1901destroyer
Earliest quotation: 1901, Sylvester D. Judd, The Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture: “But it is as a destroyer of grasshoppers that…”
Equivalent to destroy + -er
Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew’
…
Latin dēstruō ‘to destroy’
Vulgar Latin *destrugō ‘to destroy’
Old French destruire ‘to destroy’
Middle English destroyen ‘to demolish’
English destroy
The story
Designating a warship, it is ellipsis of torpedo-boat destroyer, the longer term appearing at the end of the 19th century and the shorter form early in the 20th.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew, to spread out’
strain, straw, constructive, stray, obstruction, obstruct, misconstrue, stripling, perestroika, 9 more
through Proto-Italic *strowō ‘to pile up’
through Latin struo ‘put together’
construction, structure, instrument, destruction, instructor, construct, destructive, instruct, construe, 4 more
Today it means
noun That which destroys something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *strew- / destroyer