DEPOPULATE

depopulate, desolate

(verb) reduce in population; “The epidemic depopulated the countryside”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

depopulate (third-person singular simple present depopulates, present participle depopulating, simple past and past participle depopulated)

(transitive) To reduce the population of a region by disease, war, forced relocation etc.

(transitive, electronics) To remove the components from a circuit board.

(intransitive) To become depopulated, to lose its population.

Adjective

depopulate (not comparable)

(obsolete) Depopulated.

Source: Wiktionary


De*pop"u*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Depopulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Depopulating.] Etym: [L. depopulatus, p. p. of depopulari to ravage; de- + populari to ravage, fr. populus people: cf. OF. depopuler, F. dépeupler. See People.]

Definition: To deprive of inhabitants, whether by death or by expulsion; to reduce greatly the populousness of; to dispeople; to unpeople. Where is this viper, That would depopulate the city Shak.

Note: It is not synonymous with laying waste or destroying, being limited to the loss of inhabitants; as, an army or a famine may depopulate a country. It rarely expresses an entire loss of inhabitants, but often a great diminution of their numbers; as, the deluge depopulated the earth.

De*pop"u*late, v. i.

Definition: To become dispeopled. [R.] Whether the country be depopulating or not. Goldsmith.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

19 November 2024

SALTWORT

(noun) bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash


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Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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