vastate
/ˈvæsteɪt/
verb
Origin
Latin
vastare — to lay waste
Overview
Meaning Now
- To devastate, ravage, or lay waste to.
Literal older meaning
to make empty or void
Language path
Latin → English
Earliest form
vastate
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
The verb 'vastate' is an etymological doublet of the more common 'devastate'. While 'devastate' arrived via French, 'vastate' is a direct, albeit less common, back-formation from the Latin 'vastatus'.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*wasto-
“empty, desolate”
- Latin
vastare
“to lay waste”
- Latin
vastatus
“laid waste”
Past participle of vastare
- Early Modern English
vastate
“to ravage”
Direct borrowing from Latin back-formation
Connections
Word parts
vast-
root
empty, waste
-ate
suffix
verbalizing suffix
Related across languages
French
dévaster
to devastate
Italian
vastare
to lay waste
Related words
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Related to vastate
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.