Definition of EXTIRPATE

extirpate

Meanings

Verb

  • destroy completely, as if down to the roots
  • pull up by or as if by the roots
  • surgically remove (an organ)
  • To clear an area of roots and stumps.
  • To pull up by the roots; uproot.
  • To destroy completely; to annihilate,
  • To cause to go extinct locally within a population, but not within a species or subspecies.
  • To surgically remove.

Adj

  • Extirpated
  • Rooted out, extinct, utterly destroyed.

Origin / Etymology

The verb is first attested in 1538, the adjective in 1541; Borrowed from Latin exstirpātus perfect passive participle of exstirpō (“to uproot”), from ex- (“out of”) + stirps (“the lower part of the trunk of a tree, including the roots; the stem, stalk”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Doublet of extirp. Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Scrabble Score: 18

extirpate is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
extirpate is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
extirpate is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 19

extirpate is a valid Words With Friends word