liquidate

What it means

1. archaicraretransitiveSynonym of liquefy (“to make (something) into a liquid”); to liquidize.

   The Para rubber is of very fine quality, […] whilst the Ceara, a very inferior quality, often passes through a species of decomposition before arriving in this country, the heat of the ship's hold being sufficient to partially liquidate its substance.

   1862 April 2 (date delivered), Frederick Walton, “On the Introduction and Use of Elastic Gums and Analogous Substances”, in Journal of the Society of Arts, […], volume X, number 489, London: […] [F]or the [Royal] Society [of Arts] by Bell and Daldy, […], published 4 April 1862, →OCLC, page 324, column 2

   Synonyms: liquefy

2. figurativelytransitiveTo make (a sound) less harsh.
3. figurativelytransitiveTo use up (money or other assets) wastefully; to dissipate, to squander, to waste.

   A Drunkard is a Creature God ne're made, / The Species Man, the Nature retrograde, / […] / Thoſe damn themſelves to heap an ill-got Store, / Theſe liquidate their VVealth, and covet to be poor.

   1702, [Daniel Defoe], “Part II”, in Reformation of Manners, a Satyr, [London]: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 38

In a sentence

The Para rubber is of very fine quality, […] whilst the Ceara, a very inferior quality, often passes through a species of decomposition before arriving in this country, the heat of the ship's hold being sufficient to partially liquidate its substance.

1862 April 2 (date delivered), Frederick Walton, “On the Introduction and Use of Elastic Gums and Analogous Substances”, in Journal of the Society of Arts, […], volume X, number 489, London: […] [F]or the [Royal] Society [of Arts] by Bell and Daldy, […], published 4 April 1862, →OCLC, page 324, column 2

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Indo-European*wleykʷ-
2. Proto-Indo-European*wlikʷéh₁yeti
3. Proto-Italic*(w)likʷēō
4. Latinliqueō
5. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
6. Classical Latinliquidus
7. Late Latinliquidō
8. Late Latinliquidātu
9. Englishliquidate

Learned borrowing from Late Latin liquidātus (“liquid, clear”), perfect passive participle of liquidō (“to turn into a liquid, melt; to make clear”), from Latin liquidus (“fluid, liquid; clear, transparent”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs); the former from liqueō (“to be fluid or liquid; to be clear or transparent”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wleykʷ- (“to make wet”)) + -idus (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, liquid (adjective) + -ate. Verb sense 1.2.3 (“to kill; to abolish”) is a semantic loan from Russian ликвиди́ровать (likvidírovatʹ); while verb sense 1.2.4 and verb sense 2 (business-related senses) were influenced by French liquider and Italian liquidare, all ultimately from Latin liquidus.