depopulate
/diˈpɒpjəˌleɪt/dee-PO-pyuh-layt
/diˈpɑpjəˌleɪt/dee-PAH-pyuh-layt
Meaningto empty of people
Common meaning: to greatly reduce the number of people in a place
- dedown, away, off; undoing
- populthe people; a nationLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1398 · scan
- ateverb or adjective ending: to make, having
‘down, away, off’ + ‘the people’ → depopulate
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin populus ‘the people; a nation’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry populus, p. 1398 · dictionary scan
Roots
- populus, -ī Latin “the people; a nation”
Related words
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