annihilation
/əˌnaɪɪˈleɪʃən/
noun
Origin
Latin
annihilare — to reduce to nothing
Overview
Meaning Now
- The complete destruction or obliteration of something.
- In physics, the process that occurs when a subatomic particle meets its corresponding antiparticle, causing both to be destroyed and converted into energy.
Literal older meaning
the act of reducing to nothing
Language path
Latin → Middle French → English
Earliest form
annihilation
Earliest period
17th century
Journey
The term stems from the theological and philosophical concept of 'creatio ex nihilo' (creation out of nothing), with 'annihilation' representing the inverse: the total removal of existence back to a state of nothingness.
Evolution
- Classical Latin
ad- + nihil
“towards + nothing”
- Late Latin
annihilare
“to bring to nothing”
- Middle French
annihilacion
“destruction”
- English
annihilation
“total destruction”
documented use from the early 1600s
Connections
Word parts
ad-
prefix
to, towards
nihil
root
nothing
-ation
suffix
process or state of
Related across languages
French
annihilation
Spanish
aniquilación
annihilation
Explore next
Related to annihilation
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.