A 1958 NASA back-formation from 'destruction' — coined for deliberate missile destruction; the youngest child of Latin *struere.
To deliberately destroy, especially a rocket or missile after launch; (in broader use via 'destruction') to demolish or cause the ruin of something.
Back-formed from 'destruction' (17th century), itself from Latin 'dēstructiō' (a pulling down, demolition), from 'dēstruere' (to pull down, unbuild), composed of 'dē-' (un-, down, reversal) + 'struere' (to pile up, to build, to arrange in layers). The PIE root *strew- or *ster- (to spread, strew, lay flat) underlies both 'struere' and English 'strew.' The image is of building as stacking or spreading
The verb 'destruct' is younger than the Space Age. While 'destruction' has been in English since the fourteenth century, the verb 'destruct' did not exist until 1958, when NASA engineers needed a word for deliberately blowing up a malfunctioning rocket. They back-formed 'destruct' from 'destruction,' creating