| 释义 |
deˈvast, v. Now rare.
[a. F. dévaster (1499 in Hatzf.-Darm.), ad. L. dēvastāre to lay waste, f. de- I. 1, 3 + vastāre to lay waste, vastus waste. Frequent in 17th c.; not recognized by Johnson, and said by Todd to be ‘not now in use’; but occurring in end of 19th c.]
trans. To lay waste, devastate.
1537St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 553 The yere soo ferre spent, and the countrey soo devasted. 1613Heywood Silver Age iii. i, An uncouth, savage boar Devasts the fertile plains of Thessaly. a1751Bolingbroke Study of Hist. vi, The thirty years war that devasted Germany. 1887Voice (N.Y.) 13 Jan. 5 A statute..which, in prohibiting an injurious business, devasts property previously existing. 1890W. F. Rae Maygrove III. vii. 254 The mountain slopes have been devasted by lava.
absol.1652Gaule Magastrom. 6 To devast according to the prædictions of vain humane art.
†b. To waste (time, etc.). Obs. rare.
1632Lithgow Trav. ii. 44 After my returne from Padua to Venice and 24 days attendance devasted there for passage.
Hence deˈvasted, deˈvasting ppl. adjs.
1632Lithgow Trav. v. 214 Time..running all things to devasted desolation. 1659T. Pecke Parnassi Puerp. 39 Love prudent Laws; devasting Arms neglect. 1789[see devaster]. |