To burn something completely until it turns to ash or is destroyed by fire.
From Latin 'incinerate,' combining 'in-' (in/into) + 'cinerare' (from 'cinis' = ash). The verb emerged in English in the 1600s.
The Latin root 'cinis' (ash) connects to 'cinder,' 'Cinderella' (the girl covered in cinders from ashes), and the Jewish tradition of saying someone has 'turned to cinders'—ash imagery haunts literature because it represents total destruction!
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