Waster
/ˈweɪ.stər/noun
A person or thing that wastes resources, time, or opportunities.
Did you know?The older sense of waste referred to uncultivated, uninhabited land, giving “waster” a striking historical connection to the imagery of barrenness and ruin.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wāsto-
“Reconstructed as relating to emptiness, desolation, or a deserted place; the reconstruction and exact semantic development are debated.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vastus
“Empty, waste, desolate, or immense.”
12th Century
Old North French
wast
“Waste or uncultivated land; a desolate place.”
12th–13th Century
Anglo-French
wastour
“A waster, destroyer, or spendthrift.”
14th Century
Middle English
waster
“One who wastes or consumes recklessly.”
Modern English
English
waster
“A person or thing that wastes resources, time, or opportunities.”