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Dictionary » D » Despoil

Despoil

Despoil

1. To strip, as of clothing; to divest or unclothe.

2. To deprive for spoil; to plunder; to rob; to pillage; to strip; to divest; usually followed by of. The clothed earth is then bare, Despoiled is the summer fair. (Gower) A law which restored to them an immense domain of which they had been despoiled. (Macaulay) Despoiled of innocence, of faith, of bliss. (Milton)

Synonym: to strip, deprive, rob, bereave, rifle.

Origin: OF. Despoiller, f. Depouiller, L. Despoliare, despoliatum; de- _ spoliare to strip, rob, spolium spoil, booty. Cf. Spoil, Despoliation.


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