pul·ver·ize  (p ŭl v ə-r īz ′)
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v. pul·ver·ized, pul·ver·iz·ing, pul·ver·iz·es v.tr.1. To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust. 2. To overwhelm or defeat utterly: The visitors pulverized the home team. v.intr. To be ground or reduced to powder or dust.
[Middle English pulverizen, from Late Latin pulverizāre, from Latin pulvis, pulver-, dust.]
pulver·iz′a·ble adj. pul′ver·i·zation (-vər-ĭ-zāshən) n. pulver·iz′er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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