Disfurnish

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To strip away the furniture and fittings from a room or building
2. To remove the furnishings, decorations, and fixtures that equip an interior space
3. To deprive a place of its furniture and other movable appointments

Etymology: "Disfurnish" is a plain formation: the prefix "dis-", meaning "undo" or "reverse," attached to "furnish." The verb "furnish" came into English from Old French "furnir," meaning to supply, complete or equip, and "disfurnish" takes that sense and reverses it: to strip something of its furnishings, equipment or supplies. The prefix does the work here. "Dis-" has been used in English for centuries to reverse or remove the action of a base word, as in "disarm," "discover" and "dislike," so "disfurnish" follows an established pattern rather than marking a new idea. Its meaning is simply the opposite of "furnish," whether applied to a room stripped of its fittings or a fortress deprived of its stores.