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You are here: Home / Language / What Does the Word “Vandalism” Mean and Where Did the Term For Malicious Destruction Originate?

What Does the Word “Vandalism” Mean and Where Did the Term For Malicious Destruction Originate?

March 12, 2020 by Karen Hill

A vandal mindlessly defaces public property.

During the fifth and sixth centuries the Vandals, a Germanic warrior race, expanded south from their Baltic base.

They would go beyond defeating their enemies by desecrating their cultural symbols in an effort to humiliate as well as conquer.

When in 455 they overwhelmed and then sacked Rome, the Vandals continued to deliberately mutilate public and religious monuments, an act that to this day bears the name “vandalism.”

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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