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Origin and history of raze

raze(v.)

1540s, "completely destroy," an alteration of racen "pull or knock down" (a building or town), from earlier rasen (14c.), etymologically "to scratch, slash, scrape, erase," from Old French raser "to scrape, shave," from Medieval Latin rasare, frequentative of Latin radere (past participle rasus) "to scrape, shave." This has cognates in Welsh rhathu, Breton rahein "to scrape, shave." Watkins says it is "possibly" from an extended form of the PIE root *red- "to scrape, scratch, gnaw." But de Vaan writes, "Since this word family is only found in Italo-Celtic, a PIE origin is uncertain." From 1560s as "shave off, remove by scraping," also "cut or wound slightly, graze." Related: Razed; razing.

also from 1540s

Entries linking to raze

abrade(v.)

""to rub or wear away; rub or scrape off," 1670s, from Latin abradere "to scrape off, shave away," from ab "off" (see ab-) + radere "to scrape" (see raze (v.)). Abrase, from the stem of the Latin verb, is attested from 1590s. Related: Abraded; abrading.

abrasion(n.)

1650s, "act of abrading," from Medieval Latin abrasionem (nominative abrasio) "a scraping," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin abradere "to scrape away, shave off," from ab "off" (see ab-) + radere "to scrape" (see raze (v.)). From 1740 as "result of abrasion."

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rase
late 14c., "remove by scraping, rub, erase," especially "to remove writing by scruaping it out," from Old French raser "to scrape, shave," from Medieval Latin rasare, frequentative of Latin radere (past participle rasus) "to scrape, shave" (see raze (v.)). Meaning "level to the g
rash
late 14c., "nimble, quick, vigorous" (early 14c. as a surname), a Scottish and northern word, perhaps from a survival of Old English -ræsc (as in ligræsc "flash of lightning") or one of its Germanic cognates, from Proto-Germanic *raskuz (source also of Middle Low German rasch, Mi
razor
c. 1300, rasour, "sharp-edged instrument for shaving or cutting hair," from Old French rasor, raseor "a razor" (12c.), from raser "to scrape, shave," from Medieval Latin rasare, frequentative of Latin radere (past participle rasus) "to scrape, shave" (see raze (v.)). Compare Medi
slight
.); hence also "adorn oneself" (early 14c.) and in 17c. often "raze, level" (fortifications, cities, etc.)....
laconic
When Philip of Macedon threatened them with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground," the Spartans' reply...
superintendent
[Martinists] studie to pull downe Bishopps, and set vp Superintendents, which is nothing else, but to raze out good Greeke...
bulldoze
by 1880, "intimidate by violence," from an earlier noun, bulldose "a severe beating or lashing" (1876), said by contemporary sources to be literally "a dose fit for a bull," a slang word referring to the intimidation beating of black voters (by either blacks or whites) in the cha
destruct
"to destroy," 1958, probably a back-formation from destruction in the jargon of U.S. aerospace and defense workers to refer to deliberate destruction of a missile in flight by a friendly agent; popularized 1966 in form self-destruct in the voice-over at the beginning of TV spy dr
dismantle
1570s, "deprive or strip of fortifications or equipment, raze, destroy, tear down," from French desmanteler "to tear down the walls of a fortress," literally "strip of a cloak," from des- "off, away" (see dis-) + manteler "to cloak," from mantel "cloak" (see mantle (n.)). The lit
sear
Middle English seren, from Old English searian (intransitive), of plants, "dry up, to wither, become shriveled" (a sense now rare or obsolete), from Proto-Germanic *saurajan (source also of Middle Dutch soor "dry," Old High German soren "become dry"), from root of sear "dried up,

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