'destroyer' originates from Middle English, formed from the verb 'destroy' + agent suffix '-er'. The verb 'destroy' ultimately comes from Old French 'destruire' and Latin 'destruere', where the prefix 'de-' meant 'down, away' and 'struere' meant 'to build or pile up'.

'destroyer' developed after the verb 'destroy' (Middle English 'destroyen'), which itself came from Old French 'destruire' derived from Latin 'destruere'; English formed the agent noun by adding '-er' to produce 'destroyer'.

Initially the Latin root meant 'to unbuild' or 'to pull down', but over time it broadened to mean 'to put an end to' or 'to ruin', and the agent form came to mean both 'one that destroys' and the specific naval vessel 'destroyer'.