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
