# derelict

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈdɛr.ə.lɪkt/ · frequency rank #25,350

## Definitions
1. Given up by the guardian or owner; abandoned, forsaken.
2. Given up by the guardian or owner; abandoned, forsaken.
3. Of property: in a poor state due to abandonment or neglect; dilapidated, neglected.
4. Adrift, lost.
5. Negligent in performing a duty; careless.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *de
The adjective and verb are a learned borrowing from Latin dērelictus (“(completely) abandoned, deserted, forsaken; discarded”), the perfect passive participle of dērelinquō (“to abandon, desert, forsake; to discard”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘away from; completely, thoroughly’) + relinquō (“to abandon, desert, forsake, leave (behind); to depart (from); to give up, relinquish”) (from Proto-Italic *wrelinkʷō, from *wre (“again”) (whence Latin rē- (prefix meaning ‘again’)) + *linkʷō (“to leave”) (whence linquō (“to forsake; depart from, leave, quit”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- (“to leave”))). Doublet of relict, relic, and relinquish.
The noun is derived from the adjective.

## Common misspellings (12)
`dderelict`, `deerlict`, `dereilct`, `derelcit`, `derelicct`, `derelictt`, `derelitc`, `derellict`, `derleict`, `derrelict`, `dreelict`, `edrelict`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/derelict