destroyer
/dɪˈstɹɔɪə/dih-STROY-ur
/dɪˈstɹɔɪɚ/dih-STROY-ur
Meaningone that pulls down
Common meaning: a person or thing that destroys
- dedown, away, fromSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 163 · scan
- stroyto heap up; to buildLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1767 · scan
- eragent ending: one who
‘down, away, from’ + ‘to heap up’ → destroyer
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: one that pulls down. It can be inferred from any of: destroy.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from destroy + -er (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- destruere Latin “to pull down”
- struō, strūxī, strūctum Latin “to heap up; to build”
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