mid-15c., "repulsion;" 1540s, "utter destruction, eradication," from Middle French extermination and directly from Latin exterminationem (nominative exterminatio) "ejection, banishment," noun of action from past-participle stem of exterminare "drive out, expel, put aside, drive beyond boundaries," also, in Late Latin "destroy," from phrase ex termine "beyond the boundary," from ex "out of" (see ex-) + termine, ablative of termen "boundary, limit, end" (see terminus).