Casualty
/ˈkæʒ.u.əl.ti/noun
A person killed, injured, or otherwise affected by an accident, disaster, or conflict.
Did you know?“Casualty” ultimately comes from Latin *casus*, meaning “a fall” or “an event,” the same root behind *case* and *chance* — proof that language once treated accidents as something the universe simply let happen.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
casus
“a fall, chance, or occurrence”
Late Latin
Latin
casualitas
“chance, accident, contingency”
Old French
Old French
casualte
“chance, accident; misfortune”
14th Century
English
casualte
“an accident or misfortune”
Modern English
English
casualty
“a person injured or killed, especially in war or disaster”