Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: despoillier, from Latin spoliare 'to rob'

despoil

 verb
     
de‧spoil [transitive] literary
1 to make a place much less attractive by removing or damaging things [↪ spoil]
2 to steal from a place or people using force, especially in a war
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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