Expilate

/ˈɛkspɪleɪt/ verb

Definition

To rob, plunder, or strip; to deprive someone of possessions by force or fraud.

Etymology

From Latin expilatus, past participle of expilare (to rob), from ex- (out) + pilare (to plunder). This word is archaic and rarely used in modern English except in historical or legal contexts.

Kelly Says

This word shares a root with 'pillage'—'pilare' gives us both the image of stealing goods and the historical reality of marauders stripping towns of everything valuable during medieval times.

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