depopulate
oxford
views updated May 18 2018de·pop·u·late / dēˈpäpyəˌlāt/ •
v. [tr.] substantially reduce the population of (an area): the disease could depopulate a city the size of New Haven.DERIVATIVES: de·pop·u·la·tion / -ˌpäpyəˈlāshən/ n.
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
depopulate
oxford
views updated May 18 2018depopulate †lay waste; deprive of population. XVI. f. pp. stem of L. dēpopulāre, -ārī, ravage, f. DE- 3 + populāre, -ārī lay waste (f. populus PEOPLE), in medL. deprive of inhabitants, by assoc. with Rom. *dispopulāre (OF. despeupler, mod. dé-, whence dispeople XV).
So depopulation XV. — L.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD