Defunct

How to spell defunct

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce defunct

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does defunct mean?

1. adjectiveNo longer existing, operating, or in use; having ceased to function.

Defunct in a sentence

• The bank transferred the records of the now defunct insurance firm.

• They discovered an old, defunct railway line behind the village.

Where does defunct come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin defunctus, the past participle of the verb defungi, which meant 'to discharge', 'to finish', or 'to be completely done with' a task or obligation. That verb was built from the intensifying prefix de- (here in the sense of 'completely') and fungi, meaning 'to perform' or 'to carry out a duty', the same root that gives us 'function' and 'perfunctory'. In Latin the past participle came to be used as a polite way of saying someone had 'discharged life', in other words had died, so defunctus could mean simply 'dead'. English adopted the word in the sixteenth century, first applied to people who had passed away and later, more commonly today, to organisations, businesses, and machines that have ceased to operate. Remembering that the middle belongs to the 'funct' of 'function' helps explain the unexpected -ct cluster at the end.

How the word is built

• de- (down, completely)
• funct (from Latin fungi: to perform, discharge a duty)