Military warships designed to be fast and agile; or things or people that ruin or demolish something.
From Old French 'destroier,' derived from Latin 'destruere,' a compound of 'de-' (down) and 'struere' (to build). Originally meant literally 'to un-build' or 'to tear down.'
Destroyer ships were named 'torpedo-boat destroyers' because they were specifically designed to destroy the new, dangerous torpedo boats—so the name came from their military purpose!
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