despoiler

Etymology

From Middle English dispoyler, dispoylere, equivalent to despoil + -er.

despoiler means one who despoils; one who strips by force; a plunderer. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 76 out of 100.

Why this word is great

DESPOILER — [Noun] One who strips or plunders by force, especially in a systematic or destructive manner. Its etymology is one of violation: from Middle English *dispoyler*, *dispoylere*, from the verb *despoilen* (to despoil) + the agentive suffix *-er*, with the verb ultimately from Old French *despoillier*, from Latin *dēspoliāre* (to plunder, rob), from *dē-* (completely) + *spoliāre* (to strip, rob). Unlike "plunderer" (which implies opportunistic theft in chaos) or "spoiler" (which suggests merely ruining an outcome), the despoiler is defined by a methodical act of stripping bare. He is the legionnaire prying gems from a temple idol, the developer clear-cutting an ancient grove, the collector who razors illustrations from a book to sell separately—an agent of calculated subtraction whose final, quiet truth is that there is always less when he is done.

noun

One who despoils; one who strips by force; a plunderer.“A wild and unreasoning craving for vengeance took possession of Ferris’s soul. Passing by the real despoiler of Angela’s peace, it clamoured like an evil spirit against the man from whom he had received benefits, which his distorted imagination construed into insults.”