c.1600 (figurative); 1620s (literal), from Latin evisceratus, past participle of eviscerare "to disembowel," from assimilated form of ex- "out" (see ex-) + viscera "internal organs" (see viscera). Sometimes used 17c. in a figurative sense of "to bring out the deepest secrets of." Related: Eviscerated; eviscerating.