exterminate

English

WOTD – 30 November 2013, 30 November 2014

Etymology

From Latin exterminātus, perfect passive participle of exterminō, itself from ex- + terminō (“I finish, close, end”) (from terminus (“limit, end”)).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɛkˈstəː.mɪ.neɪt/, /ɪkˈstəː.mɪ.neɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪkˈstɝ.mɪ.neɪt/, /ɛkˈstɝ.mɪ.neɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

exterminate (third-person singular simple present exterminates, present participle exterminating, simple past and past participle exterminated)

1. (transitive) To kill all of (a population of pests or undesirables), usually intentionally.

   We'll use poison to exterminate the rats.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Geth Codex entry:

     The geth are a humanoid race of networked A.I.s. They were created by the quarians 300 years ago as tools of labor and war. When the geth showed signs of self-evolution, the quarians attempted to exterminate them. The geth won the resulting war. This example has led to legal, systematic repression of artificial intelligences in galactic society.

2. (figuratively, transitive) To bring a definite end to; finish completely.

   The public school failed to exterminate truancy.

Synonyms

• (to kill all): annihilate, eradicate, extermine, uproot
• (to bring an end to): stamp out
• See also Thesaurus:destroy

Derived terms

Derived terms

• extermination
• exterminative
• exterminator
• exterminatory

Related terms

• terminate
• termination
• terminator

Translations

to kill all of a population

• Bashkir: ҡырыу (qırıw)
• Bulgarian: изтребвам (bg) (iztrebvam)
• Catalan: exterminar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 滅絕／灭绝 (zh) (mièjué)

• Czech: vyhladit, vyhubit (cs)
• Danish: udrydde
• Dutch: uitroeien (nl), verdelgen (nl)
• French: exterminer (fr)
• German: ausrotten (de)
• Greek: εξολοθρεύω (el) (exolothrévo), εξοντώνω (el) (exontóno)
• Hebrew: חיסל
• Italian: sterminare (it)
• Ladino: eksterminar
• Maori: haepapa, hoepapa, whakamōtī, tipihauraro
• Persian: ریشه‌کن کردن (riše-kan kardan)
• Portuguese: exterminar (pt), erradicar (pt)
• Romanian: exterminare (ro) f
• Russian: истребля́ть (ru) impf (istrebljátʹ), истреби́ть (ru) pf (istrebítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: истребити, istrebiti (sh)
• Spanish: exterminar (es)
• Turkish: kökünü kurutmak
• Ukrainian: вини́щувати (vynýščuvaty), виво́дити (vyvódyty) (pests, parasites)
• Yiddish: פֿאַרטיליקן (fartilikn)

to bring a definite end to, finish completely

• Bulgarian: унищожавам (bg) (uništožavam)
• Catalan: exterminar (ca)
• Dutch: afmaken (nl), beëindigen (nl), uitroeien (nl)
• Greek: επιτυγχάνω (el) (epityncháno)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: لەناوبردن (lenawbirdin)

• Ladino: eksterminar
• Portuguese: exterminar (pt), aniquilar (pt)
• Russian: уничтожа́ть (ru) impf (uničtožátʹ), уничто́жить (ru) pf (uničtóžitʹ)
• Spanish: despalillar (es), exterminar (es)
• Yiddish: פֿאַרטיליקן (fartilikn)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} exterminer (fr), ^{(please verify)} anéantir (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} ausrotten (de)

Latin

Verb

extermināte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of exterminō

Spanish

Verb

exterminate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of exterminar combined with te