Devastation
/ˌdɛvəˈsteɪʃən/noun
The act or result of destroying something severely; extreme ruin.
Did you know?Devastation comes from Latin devastare, a military word meaning to strip a place of its people and resources, so the “devastation” was once the deliberate emptiness left behind by conquest.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
dēvastāre
“to lay waste, ravage, strip bare”
Late Latin
Latin
dēvastātiō
“a laying waste, devastation”
Middle French
Old French
devastation
“destruction, ravaging”
14th–15th Century
English
devastacioun
“ruin, waste, destruction”
Modern English
English
devastation
“severe destruction or ruin”