To remove the internal organs from something; figuratively, to deprive something of its essential elements or meaning.
From Latin 'evisceratus,' combining 'e-' (out) and 'viscera' (internal organs). The word originally described physical disembowelment but evolved to mean stripping away core content or meaning.
When critics say a film 'eviscerated the novel,' they mean it removed all the meaningful parts—the word's evolution from literal butchering to metaphorical gutting shows how body-based words become abstract.
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