Explanations connect it with the German noun Verderb 'spoilage, deterioration', perhaps referring to a 'forest completely ruined' (i.e., cleared for settlement)[5] or to the complete removal of vegetation for agriculture.

In the Kočevje land registry of 1574, Verderb was listed as a joint settlement with Verdreng with 11 half-farms together.

The village was burned by Italian troops in the summer of 1942 during the Rog Offensive and it was never rebuilt.

[1]: 247 An early 17th-century village chapel was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and stood on Mount Verdreng (Verdrenška gora; also known as Mount Verderb, Verderbška gora[8]) east of the village.

It had a Gothic-style chancel and a wooden ceiling in the nave, and the main altar dated from 1891.