spoliation

/spəʊliˈeɪʃn̩/

Etymology

From Late Middle English spoliacioun (“looting, robbery, theft; an instance of this; (ecclesiastical) wrongful deprivation of the emoluments of a benefice due to another”), from Anglo-Norman spoliacioun, espolïacion, and directly from their etymon spoliātiō (“plundering, robbing”), from spoliāre (“to deprive or strip of clothing or covering, unclothe, uncover; (by extension) to pillage, plunder; etc.”), from spolium (“hide or skin stripped off an animal; (by extension) booty, spoil; etc.”). The English word was probably also influenced by French spoliation.

spoliation means the action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; pillage, plunder; also, the state of having property forcibly seized; (countable) an instance of this; a robbery, a seizure. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 76 out of 100.

spoliation is pronounced /spəʊliˈeɪʃn̩/.

Why “spoliation” is a great word

SPOLIATION — [Noun] The act of plundering, seizing, or destroying property, especially in a violent or wrongful manner. From Late Middle English spoliacioun, from Anglo-Norman and Latin spoliātiōn- (stem of spoliātiō, "plundering"), from spoliāre ("to strip, plunder"), from spolium ("hide stripped from an animal; booty"). First attested in English c1460. Unlike "confiscation," which implies a lawful seizure by authority, or "spoilage," which denotes natural decay, spoliation is the deliberate, often violent, unmooring of possession from right. It is the sacked city's treasury emptied by torchlight, the calculated burning of documents before a trial, and the methodical stripping of a fallen knight's armor on the field—the formalized violence by which one man's legacy becomes another's spoils.

noun

The action of spoliating, or forcibly seizing property; pillage, plunder; also, the state of having property forcibly seized; (countable) an instance of this; a robbery, a seizure.“The weapons of the empire had been […] an unequalled genius for organization, and an uniform system of external law and order. This was generally a real boon to conquered nations, because it substituted a fixed and regular spoliation for the fortuitous and arbitrary miseries of savage warfare: […]”
The action of destroying or ruining; destruction, ruin.“Marks of violence were visible in every part; a cupboard had been forced open, and the contents of a chest of drawers were scattered about the room. The shop bore even more evident signs of spoliation—that reckless wastefulness which seems the constant companion of cruelty; but little of the grocery appeared to have been touched, excepting the sweet things.”
The action of an incumbent (“holder of an ecclesiastical benefice”) wrongfully depriving another of the emoluments of a benefice.“A Benefice is ſaid to be vacant de Facto, and not de Jure, vvhen the Poſſeſſion thereof is loſt by Spoliation or Intruſion, and the like: […]”
A lawsuit brought or writ issued by an incumbent against another, claiming that the latter has wrongfully taken the emoluments of a benefice.“[W]here one ſaith to the Patron, that his Clerk is dead, whereupon he preſents another: there the firſt Incumbent, who was ſuppoſed to be dead, may have a Spoliation againſt the other.”
The intentional destruction of, or tampering with, a document so as to impair its evidentiary value.“Plaintiff, a child injured during birth, alleges that defendant hospital intentionally destroyed evidence relevant to his malpractice action against the hospital. He seeks to bring a separate tort cause of action against defendant hospital for its alleged intentional spoliation—that is, intentional destruction or suppression—of evidence. […] [W]e conclude that when the alleged intentional spoliati”
The systematic forcible seizure of property during a crisis or state of unrest such as that caused by war, now regarded as a crime; looting, pillage, plunder; (countable) an instance of this.“Spoliation of Jewish property by Nazi authorities occurred on a large scale during World War II.”