Wordwyrt

detriment

/ˈdetɹəmənt/DEH-truh-muhnt
/ˈdɛtɹəmənt/DEH-truh-muhnt

Meaninga rubbing away; harm

Common meaning: harm or damage

‘down, away, off’ + ‘to rub, wear away’ → detriment

Journey through time

  1. Latinterō, trīvī, trītum‘to rub, wear away’
  2. Old Frenchdetrimentsource
  3. Englishdetriment‘harm or damage’ · today

de- also in: deterdecampdecidededucedefame

tri also in: tritecontriteattrition

Sources & notes

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: Built on Latin terō ‘to rub, wear away’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry terō, p. 1859 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

attritioncontritetrite

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