Link Centre Dictionary

derelict

de·re·lict

UK/ˈdɛr.ə.lɪkt/ US/ˈdɛɹəˌlɪk(t)/ uncommon dated obsolete rare us
noun (2) adjective (2)

noun

1.

a person unable to support himself

2.

a ship abandoned on the high seas

Synonyms

adjective

1.

deserted or abandoned as by an owner

  • “a derelict ship”
Similar
2.

failing in what duty requires

  • “derelict (or delinquent) in his duty”
  • “neglectful of his duties”
  • “remiss of you not to pay your bills”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

The adjective and verb are a learned borrowing from Latin dērelictus (“(completely) abandoned, deserted, forsaken; discarded”), the perfect passive participle of dērelinquō (“to abandon, desert, forsake; to discard”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘away from; completely, thoroughly’) + relinquō (“to abandon, desert, forsake, leave (behind); to depart (from); to give up, relinquish”) (from Proto-Italic *wrelinkʷō, from *wre (“again”) (whence Latin rē- (prefix meaning ‘again’)) + *linkʷō (“to leave”) (whence linquō (“to forsake; depart from, leave, quit”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- (“to leave”))). Doublet of relict, relic, and relinquish. The noun is derived from the adjective.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.