Etymology

despoil

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Today it means: To plunder; to pillage; take spoil from. Full definition →

Middle English despoylen, dispoylen ← Old French despoillier ← Latin dēspoliō, dēspoliāre
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despoil · verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromdēspoliō, dēspoliāre
  2. Old French · derived fromdespoillier
  3. Middle English · inherited fromdespoylen, dispoylen
  4. English todaydespoil

From Middle English despoylen, dispoylen, from Old French despoillier ( > French dépouiller), from Latin dēspoliō, dēspoliāre.

despoil · noun2

  1. Old French · derived fromdespoille, despueille
  2. Middle English · inherited fromdespoylle, dispoyll
  3. English todaydespoil

From Middle English despoylle, dispoyll, from Old French despoille, despueille, deverbal from despoillier.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.