devastate

/ˈdevəsˌteɪt/DEH-vuh-stayt
/ˈdɛvəsˌteɪt/DEH-vuh-stayt

Meaningto lay waste

Common meaning: to lay waste

‘down, away, off’ + ‘empty, huge’ → devastate

Journey through time

  1. Latinvastus, -a, -um‘empty, huge’
  2. Englishdevastate‘to lay waste’ · today

de- also in: deterdecampdecidededucedefame

vast also in: vast

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin vastus ‘empty, huge’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry vastus, p. 1959 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

vast

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