despoil
/dɪˈspɔɪl/ verb, noun
Forms despoils despoiling despoiled
- verb (transitive) To plunder; to pillage; take spoil from.
- verb (transitive) To violently strip (someone), with indirect object of their possessions etc.; to rob.
- verb (obsolete, transitive or reflexive) To strip (someone) of their clothes; to undress.
- noun (obsolete) Plunder; spoliation.
Synonyms
plunder loot reave strip rifle ransack pillage foray rape spoil violate
Etymology
From Middle English despoylen, dispoylen, from Old French despoillier ( > French dépouiller), from Latin dēspoliō, dēspoliāre.
From Middle English despoylle, dispoyll, from Old French despoille, despueille, deverbal from despoillier.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To strip, as of clothing; to divest or unclothe. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- verb To deprive for spoil; to plunder; to rob; to pillage; to strip; to divest; --usually followed by of. The clothed earth is then bare, Despoiled is the summer fair. Gower.
- noun Spoil. [Obs.] Wolsey.
Etymology [OF. despoiller, F. dépouiller, L. despoliare, despoliatum; de- + spoliare to strip, rob, spolium spoil, booty. Cf. Spoil, Despoliation.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “despoil”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details