Etymology

deletion

D2E1L1E1T1I1O1N1

Today it means: An item that has been or will be deleted. Full definition →

First used 1580sLatin dēlētiōnem ← Proto-Italic *oleō ← Proto-Indo-European *h₃olh₁-éye-ti
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindē
  5. Latindē-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₂leyH-
  7. Proto-Italic*linō
  8. Latinlinō
  9. Latindēlinō
  10. Latindēlēvībf.?
  11. Latindē-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₃elh₁-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₃olh₁-éye-ti
  14. Proto-Italic*oleō
  15. Latin*oleō
  16. Latindēleō
  17. Latindēlētiōnem
  18. English todaydeletion

From Latin dēlētiōnem (“destruction, effacement”), from the past-participle stem of dēlēre (“to blot out, destroy, efface”). Equivalent to delete + -ion.

First known use, by meaning

  • 1580s An item that has been or will be deleted.
  • c. 1600 The act of deleting.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.