deprave

views updated May 21 2018

de·prave / diˈprāv/ • v. [tr.] make (someone) immoral or wicked: this book would deprave and corrupt young children.DERIVATIVES: dep·ra·va·tion / ˌdeprəˈvāshən/ n.ORIGIN: late Middle English (in the sense ‘pervert the meaning or intention of something’): from Old French depraver or Latin depravare, from de- ‘down, thoroughly’ + pravus ‘crooked, perverse.’

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

deprave

views updated May 29 2018

deprave XIV. — (O)F. dépraver or L. dēprāvāre, f. DE- 3 + prāvus crooked, perverse, bad.
So depravity XVII.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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