corrupt
/kəˈrʌpt/
adjective
Origin
Latin
corrumpere — to mar, bribe, or destroy
Overview
Meaning Now
- Having been debased in character; dishonest or lacking integrity.
- Containing errors or alterations that make data unusable or unreliable.
- In a state of physical decay or decomposition.
Literal older meaning
broken together
Language path
Latin → Middle English → English
Earliest form
corrupt
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The term carries both moral and physical weight; historically, it linked the idea of physical rot to the corruption of the soul or state, reflecting a worldview where moral disorder was as visible as physical decay.
Evolution
- Latin
corrumpere
“to destroy completely”
Prefix com- (together) + rumpere (to break).
- Late Latin
corruptus
“spoiled, marred, or corrupted”
Past participle of corrumpere.
- Middle English
corrupt
“morally depraved or physically rotten”
Adopted from Old French corrompre or directly from Latin.
- Modern English
corrupt
“dishonest or data-damaged”
Added computational sense in the 20th century.
Connections
Word parts
cor-
prefix
together/thoroughly
-rupt
root
broken
Related across languages
French
corrompre
to corrupt
Spanish
corrupto
corrupt
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Related to corrupt
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.