'obliteration' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'oblitteratio' (from the verb 'oblitterare'), where 'ob-' meant 'against/toward' and 'littera' meant 'letter', so the original sense was to blot out letters.

'obliteration' changed from the Late Latin/medieval Latin word 'oblitteratio' (formed from 'oblitterare') and passed into English via later Latin/possibly French usage to become the modern English word 'obliteration'.

Initially, it meant 'the rubbing-out or blotting out of letters', but over time it broadened to the current general meaning of 'complete removal, destruction, or erasure'.