nuke
UK[njuːk]US[nuːk]
n
a nuclear weapon
v
to attack or destroy with nuclear weapons
v
(informal) to cook or heat something in a microwave oven
Etymology
the word "nuke" is a mid-20th century american english slang abbreviation of "nuclear", first recorded in 1959. "nuclear" originates from the latin "nucleus", meaning "kernel" or "core", which is a diminutive of "nux" (nut). the semantic leap from a biological or physical core to a weapon of immense destructive power is a direct result of the manhattan project and the subsequent cold war era, where the term "nuclear weapon" entered common parlance. the clipping to "nuke" reflects a linguistic tendency to create shorter, more casual terms for frightening or complex concepts, and its later application to microwave ovens humorously equates their rapid heating capability to the power of a nuclear reaction.
Analysis
the word is a clipped form of "nuclear", which itself is derived from "nucleus". it functions as a back-formation and subsequent shortening.
Examples
the treaty aimed to reduce the number of nukes in the world.
in the video game, the player can choose to nuke an enemy base.
just nuke the leftovers for two minutes, and they'll be hot.