Meaning

noun someone who willfully destroys or defaces property

noun a member of the Germanic people who overran Gaul and Spain and North Africa and sacked Rome in 455

origin1660s, “willful destroyer of what is beautiful or venerable”, from Vandal, referring to a member of an ancient Germanic people, the Vandals, who are associated with senseless destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Genseric in 455. During the Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, while the Goths and Vandals were blamed for its destruction. The Vandals may not have been any more…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0