vandal

1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”,^[1] from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455. During the Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, while the Goths and Vandals were blamed for its destruction. The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders of ancient times, but they did inspire English poet John Dryden to write, Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface (1694).^[2] However, the Vandals did intentionally damage statues, which may be why their name is associated with the vandalism of art. The coining of French Vandalisme by Henri Grégoire in 1794 to describe the destruction of artwork following the French Revolution popularized the idea further, and the term was quickly adopted across Europe, including as English vandalism.

• IPA^(key): /ˈvændəl/
• Rhymes: -ændəl

• Audio (US):

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vandal (plural vandals)

1. A person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages things, especially other people's property.

   Vandals spray-painted obscenities on the side of the building.

   The anonymous vandal was blocked after going on a vandalism spree.

• destroyer
• ruiner
• wrecker

vandal m anim

1. vandal (person who needlessly destroys, defaces, or damages other people's property)

• “vandal”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• “vandal”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Borrowed from English vandal.

vandal m (genitive singular vandal, plural vandallyn)

1. (history) vandal

From Latin vandali (plural).

vandal m (definite singular vandalen, indefinite plural vandaler, definite plural vandalene)

1. (modern-day) a vandal
2. (historical) a Vandal

• vandalsk

• “vandal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Latin vandali (plural).

vandal m (definite singular vandalen, indefinite plural vandalar, definite plural vandalane)

1. (modern-day) a vandal
2. (historical) a Vandal

• vandalsk

• “vandal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Borrowed from French vandale.

vandal m (plural vandali)

1. vandal
2. Vandal

vandal c

1. a vandal
2. a Vandal (member of an ancient east Germanic tribe)

• huligan (“hooligan”)
• ligist

• vandal in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• vandal in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• vandal in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)