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# The Good Oil Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-good-oil-word-of-the-day-532/
- Published: 2026-01-25T17:15:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-25T17:15:10.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, Word of the Day

The word for today is…

dilapidate (verb) -

1: to bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin  
2 *archaic* : squander

Source : [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dilapidate?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : Something that is dilapidated may not have been literally pummeled with stones, but it might look that way. Dilapidate derives from the past participle of the Latin verb dilapidare, meaning "to squander or destroy." That verb was formed by combining "dis-" with another verb, lapidare, meaning "to pelt with stones." From there it's just a stone's throw to some other English relatives of "dilapidate." You might, for example, notice a resemblance between "lapidare" and our word for a person who cuts or polishes precious stones, "lapidary." That's because both words share as a root the Latin noun lapis, meaning "stone." We also find "lapis" in the name "lapis lazuli," a bright blue semiprecious stone.

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