delete

delete · verb, noun¹

1. Latin · borrowed fromdēlētus
2. English todaydelete

From Latin dēlētus, past participle of dēlēre (“destroy, blot out, efface”), from dēlēvī, originally perf. tense of dēlinere (“to daub, erase by smudging”), from dē- (“from, away”) + linere (“to smear, wipe”). Original sense first appears c. 1495. In common use for ordering the absence of features of products (such as automobiles) in the 1960s. The computing sense, including the noun form, first appears c. 1977 in Software: Practice & Experience. Not related to deleterious. Doublet of delible and deleble.

Delete · noun²

From the verb delete.

First known use, by meaning

• from 1600s To remove, get rid of or erase, especially written or printed material, or data on a computer or other device.
• from 1600s To remove from a record label's catalog so that it is out of print.