expunge

Where does the word "expunge" come from? It comes from Latin pungere, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).

Expunge’s story begins in Latin: pungere meant “to prick, to pierce.” To prick, to pierce, combined with ex- (out). Within Latin, it grew into expungere by ancient. To prick out, to mark for deletion with dots, from ex- and pungere. It reached English by 1600s as expunge. Settled as the English word for completely erasing or removing something. Today, expunge means to completely erase or remove something, especially from a record.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient pungere "to prick, to pierce", to prick, to pierce, combined with ex- (out).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient expungere "to prick out, to mark for deletion", to prick out, to mark for deletion with dots, from ex- and pungere.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s expunge "to completely erase or remove something", settled as the English word for completely erasing or removing something.