Other forms: detriments
A detriment is harm done to something valued. To the detriment of everybody.
It nearly always appears in the phrase to the detriment of, which is where most people meet it. The Latin behind it is a rubbing away, so a detriment is wear rather than a blow.
1noundetrimentHarm done to something valued.
“He worked every weekend to the detriment of everything else.”
detriment is harm.
Latin detrimentum means a rubbing off, from deterere, to wear away.
Latin
detrimentum — loss, damage, literally a rubbing off
Old French
detriement
English, today
detriment
Built from
From Old French detriement, from Latin detrimentum (“loss, damage, literally a rubbing off”), from dēterere (“to rub off, wear”), from dē- (“down, away”) + terere (“to rub”). Detriment is related to the word detritus, and built on similar foundations to the word impediment.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA