extirpate

Definition

To clear an area of roots and stumps.

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.

Example Sentences

• "But you are not Hercules; nor able to extirpate the Evils of others: nor even Theſeus, to extirpate the Evils of Attica. Extirpate your own then."
• "The simple object was to expel the natives, and to extirpate the Catholic religion."
• "They [steam trains] are everything modern life tries to extirpate in favour of silence, smoothness and cleanness."

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