extinct

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ɪkˈstɪŋkt/, /ɪkˈstɪŋt/, /ɛk-/ Rhymes: -ɪŋkt Hyphenation: ex‧tinct === Etymology 1 === From Late Middle English extinct (“eliminated, eradicated, extinguished”), from Latin extīnctus, exstīnctus (“extinguished, quenched; destroyed, killed; made extinct”), the perfect passive participles of extinguō, exstinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench; (figurative) to abolish; to destroy, kill”), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + stinguō (“to extinguish, put out, quench”) (from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- (“to push”)). The Middle English word displaced Middle English aqueint, aquenched (“extinct; extinguished”). Doublet of extinguish. ==== Adjective ==== extinct (not comparable) (archaic) Of fire, etc.: no longer alight; of a light, etc.: no longer shining; extinguished, quenched. Antonyms: alight, burning (figurative) Of feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.: put out, as if like a fire; quenched, suppressed. Of customs, ideas, laws and legal rights, offices, organizations, languages, etc.: no longer existing or in use; defunct, discontinued, obsolete; specifically, of a title of nobility: no longer having any person qualified to hold it. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:obsolete Antonyms: (archaic) inextinct, unextinct; see also Thesaurus:active (biology) Of an animal or plant species or group of species, a group of people, a family, etc., having no living members, representatives, or descendants. (Discuss(+) this sense) Synonyms: see Thesaurus:inexistent Antonyms: extant, (archaic) inextinct, living, nonextinct, unextinct; see also Thesaurus:existent (geology) Of a geological feature: no longer active; specifically, of a volcano: no longer erupting. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dead Antonyms: active, dormant, nonextinct, unextinct (nuclear physics) Of a radioisotope: no longer occurring primordially due to having decayed away completely, because it has a relatively short half-life. (obsolete) Of a person: dead; also, permanently separated from others. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English extincten (“to extinguish or put out (a fire, light, etc.); to destroy, kill; (figurative) to suppress (an uprising); (law) to quash or stop (legal proceedings); to cancel (a privilege, title, etc.); (medicine) to eliminate or reduce (inflammation, an ulcer, etc.)”), from extinct (adjective) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). ==== Verb ==== extinct (third-person singular simple present extincts, present participle extincting, simple past extincted, past participle extincted or (obsolete) extinct) (transitive) Synonym of extinguish. (obsolete) To stop (fire, etc.) from burning; also, to stop (light, etc.) from shining; to put out, to quench. (obsolete, figurative) To kill (someone). (obsolete, figurative) To put an end to (something) completely; to annihilate, to destroy. (specifically, biology) To cause (an animal or plant species) to die out completely or become extinct (adjective etymology 1 sense 2.3). Antonym: de-extinct (obsolete, figurative) To suppress (something, as feelings, a person's spirit, a state of affairs, etc.); to quench. (obsolete, figurative, chiefly law) To abolish or make void (a law, a legal right, etc.); also, to cancel (a creditor's claim, a licence, etc.). ===== Usage notes ===== Etymology 2 sense 1.3.1 (“to cause (an animal or plant species) to die out completely or become extinct”) is the only sense that is current. ===== Derived terms ===== extincted (adjective) (obsolete) extincting (noun) (obsolete) extincture (obsolete) ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Either: from Latin extīnctus, exstīnctus, a noun use of the perfect passive participle of extinguō, exstinguō (see etymology 1); or from the verb (see etymology 2). ==== Noun ==== extinct (uncountable) (obsolete) Synonym of extinction (“the action of becoming or making extinct; annihilation”). === References === === Further reading === extinction on Wikipedia.Wikipedia extinct radionuclide on Wikipedia.Wikipedia William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “extinct”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “extinct”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. “extinct”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.