Derelict

How to spell derelict

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce derelict

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does derelict mean?

1. adjectiveIn poor condition through having been abandoned or neglected.
2. adjectiveFailing to carry out one's responsibilities or duties.

Derelict in a sentence

• The council plans to demolish the derelict warehouse by the river.

• The report found the supervisor had been derelict in checking the safety equipment.

• Squatters had moved into the derelict factory on the edge of town.

• The guard was derelict in his duty when he left the gate unlocked.

Where does derelict come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin derelictus, the past participle of the verb derelinquere, which meant 'to abandon completely' or 'to forsake utterly'. That verb stacks two prefixes onto a core: de- adds the sense of 'thoroughly' or 'entirely', re- adds the sense of 'back' or 'behind', and the root linquere simply meant 'to leave'. So a derelict thing was something left wholly behind, given up on without any intention of return. English adopted it in the seventeenth century, first in legal and maritime contexts for property, especially ships, that had been abandoned by their owners. The same linquere root survives in the everyday words 'relinquish' and 'relic', and noticing that single -lict spelling helps explain why the word has one l in the middle rather than the doubled letters a writer might expect.

How the word is built

• de- (completely)
• re- (back, behind)
• lict (from linquere: to leave)
• (past-participle ending)