| 释义 |
devastate, v.|ˈdɛvəsteɪt|
[f. L. dēvastāt- ppl. stem of dēvastāre (see devast). Used by Sir T. Herbert and in Bailey 1727, but not recognized by Johnson 1755, and app. not in common use till the 19th c.]
trans. To lay waste, ravage, waste, render desolate.
1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 77 Jangheer..subjects Berar, and devastates the Decan Empire unto Kerky. 1727Bailey vol. II, To Devastate, to lay waste, to spoil. [Omitted in ed. 2, 1731, and not in Folio 1730.] 1818Todd s.v. Devast, Not now in use. But devastate supplies its place. 1842Macaulay Fredk. Gt. Ess. (1854) 683/2 A succession of cruel wars had devastated Europe. 1847Emerson Poems, Blight Wks. (Bohn) I. 483 We invade them impiously for gain; We devastate them unreligiously. 1874Green Short Hist. v. §4. 241 [Black Death] devastating Europe from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Baltic.
fig.1856Dove Logic Chr. Faith v. i. §2. 298 Kant completely devastates the cobwebs and sophistries. 1864Longfellow in Life (1891) III. 31 Went to town, which devastated the day.
Hence ˈdevastated ppl. a.
1813Shelley Queen Mab iv. 112 The bloodiest scourge Of devastated earth. |