Eliminate | Vocabulary
About this video
Eliminate is a verb meaning to remove or get rid of something, often for good. It comes from Latin ex (out, away) and limin (edge, threshold), so it is like pushing something over the threshold and out the door; ex shortens to e, as in eject and emit. The word often has a dire, scary connotation, but it also appears in everyday contexts like adverts.
You'll be able to
- explain what eliminate means and use it in a sentence.
- explain how the Latin parts ex (out) and limin (threshold) build the meaning of eliminate.
- recognise related words such as exit, limit and subliminal.
- describe how the connotation of eliminate changes with context.
Key words
- eliminate
- A verb meaning to remove or get rid of something, often for good.
- ex- / e-
- A Latin word part meaning out or away, as in exit, eject and emit.
- limin
- A Latin word part meaning edge or threshold, as in limit.
- threshold
- The edge or doorway you cross to go from one place to another.
- subliminal
- Below the threshold of awareness, so you don't consciously notice it.
- connotation
- The feeling or idea a word carries beyond its basic meaning, like 'kind of scary'.
Transcript
- [David] What's up, wordsmiths? This video is about the word eliminate. Eliminate. It's a verb. It means to remove or get rid of something. The word comes to us from Latin, and it's a combination of two parts, ex, which means out or away, think exit, and limin, which means edge or threshold, think limit.
You're pushing something over the threshold and out the door. (instructor mimicking door slamming) There he goes. You'll notice it's not exliminate. Sometimes ex gets shortened down to just e, as it does here or in words like eject or emit. For now, just know that sometimes, ex becomes e, as in eliminate.
Thinking of those elements, ex or lim, try to come up with a couple of similar words in English that contain those parts. I'll give you 10 seconds, all right? Take it away, music break. (light music) Here are some of mine: exit, like the opposite of an entrance, a place you go out of, limit, like the edge or the end of something, and subliminal, this is a fun one.
It means below the threshold of awareness. You might have heard of subliminal messaging, like how I've been subtly flashing the words eat more mangoes onscreen for the last five seconds. I haven't been paid by any mango growers or anything. I just think they're tasty fruits.
But to eliminate something is to get rid of it. For good. Let's try it in a sentence. And you can see how it comes across. It usually has a kind of dire connotation, kinda scary. "Our new directive of public order will eliminate those troublemakers for good," sneered the Minister of Peace.
Right, creepy, ew. I didn't even need to do the voice. Getting rid of troublemakers for good sounds pretty frightening. Not gonna lie. A less creepy example, you might see it in an advertising context, like, "This fabulous product eliminates 99% of household odors!"
Fabulous little product in its spray can. It removes the odors. It takes them away. It puts them beyond the threshold, the limit of your awareness. I hope that this video has eliminated any confusion about the meaning of the word eliminate. All right, I'm exiting now.
Catch you in the next one. You can learn anything, David out.
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