Impoverishment
/ɪmˈpɒv.ər.ɪʃ.mənt/noun
The act or state of making someone or something poor; the loss of wealth, quality, or vitality.
Did you know?Impoverishment comes from a chain that passed through Old French and Medieval Latin, where the prefix im- and the suffix -ment turn “poor” into a process, showing how languages can weaponize a simple state into an act.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pau-
“Few, little, small”
Latin
Latin
pauper
“Poor, lacking means”
Old French
OF
empovrir
“To make poor”
Middle English
ME
impoverishen
“To make poor; reduce in wealth or condition”
14th Century
English
impoverishment
“The act or state of making poor; reduction to poverty”
Modern English
English
impoverishment
“The act or state of becoming or making poor, or less rich in quality or substance”
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