desolation

See also: désolation

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French desolacion f, from Latin dēsōlātiō f.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌdɛsəˈleɪʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

desolation (countable and uncountable, plural desolations)

1. The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.
2. The state of being desolated or laid waste

   Synonyms: ruin, solitariness, destitution, gloom, gloominess

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 1:26–27:

     I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

   • 1823, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Forget Me Not 1824, The Indian Orphan, page 68:

     One or two uncovered masses appeared like the lingering foot-prints of desolation; but in general where the statelier trees had not taken root, the soil was luxuriantly covered with heath and the golden blossomed furze.

3. A place or country wasted and forsaken.

Translations

act of desolating or laying waste

• Bulgarian: обезлюдяване n (obezljudjavane)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 撂荒 (liàohuāng)

• German: Verwüsten n, Verwüstung (de) f

state of being desolated or laid waste

• Bulgarian: изоставеност (bg) f (izostavenost)
• German: Verwüstetsein n, Verwüstung (de) f, Verlassenheit (de) f, Trostlosigkeit (de) f
• Latin: vāstitās f
• Ottoman Turkish: خراب (harab)
• Portuguese: desolação (pt) f

place or country wasted and forsaken

• Bulgarian: пустош (bg) f (pustoš)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 荒地 (zh) (huāngdì)

• German: Ort des Elends m, Wüstung (de) f, Wüstenei (de) f, Wüste (de) f
• Plautdietsch: Eed

Middle French

Etymology

Derived from Old French desolacion f, from Latin dēsōlātiō f or learned borrowing directly from the Latin term.

Noun

desolation f (plural desolations)

1. desolation; destruction; annihilation.

Descendants

• French: désolation f