'liquidator' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'liquidare' meaning 'to make liquid, to melt or settle', with the adjective/root 'liquidus' meaning 'fluid' or 'liquid'.

'liquidare' passed into Late Latin and then into French as 'liquidateur'/'liquider', and English borrowed the noun form 'liquidator' (recorded in legal/financial contexts) to mean an agent who liquidates assets.

Initially related to making or becoming liquid ('to melt' or 'render fluid'); over time the sense shifted toward 'settling accounts' or 'converting assets to cash', and later extended figuratively to 'one who eliminates or removes'.