devastated
/ˈdɛvəsteɪtɪd/
adjective
Origin
Latin
devastare — to lay waste
Overview
Meaning Now
- Feeling extremely shocked, upset, or overwhelmed by grief or sadness.
- Completely destroyed or ruined.
Literal older meaning
Made void, empty, or laid waste.
Language path
Latin → Middle French → English
Earliest form
devastated
Earliest period
17th century
Journey
The term originated from the Latin 'vastus', meaning 'waste' or 'empty'. While originally used strictly for physical landscapes or cities ruined by war, the term gradually expanded into the psychological domain by the 19th century to describe the feeling of being internally 'laid waste' by grief.
Evolution
- Latin
vastus
“empty, desolate, waste”
- Late Latin
devastare
“to lay waste completely”
Added the intensive prefix 'de-'.
- Middle French
dévaster
“to ravage, to lay waste”
- English, 17th Century
devastate
“to ruin or destroy”
- English, 19th Century
devastated
“emotionally overwhelmed”
Figurative extension from physical destruction to emotional state.
Connections
Word parts
de-
prefix
intensive or complete action
vast-
root
empty or waste
-ate
suffix
verb-forming suffix
-ed
ending
participial adjective suffix
Related across languages
French
dévaster
to devastate
Spanish
devastar
to devastate
Italian
devastare
to devastate
Related words
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.