Depredate is a verb meaning to lay waste, plunder, ravage, or to engage in plunder. It primarily derives from the Latin "praedari" (to plunder).
Depredar es un verbo que significa arrasar, saquear, devastar o dedicarse al pillaje. Proviene principalmente del latín "praedari" (saquear).
| Word | depredate |
|---|---|
| Date | August 20, 2017 |
| Type | verb |
| Syllables | DEP-ruh-dayt |
| Etymology | Depredate derives primarily from the Latin verb praedari, meaning "to plunder," an ancestor to our words predator and prey. Dating to the 17th century, the word most commonly appears in contexts relating to nature and ecology, where it is often used to describe the methodical, almost automatic destruction of life. That's how the film critic Stanley Kauffman, for example, used it to summarize the plot of the famous horror movie Jaws (1975): "A killer shark depredates the beach of an island summer resort. Several people are killed. Finally, the shark is killed. That's the story." |
| Examples | The bear that depredated the beekeeper's hives has been caught and relocated. "IDFG Director Virgil Moore … talked to the commissioners about possible solutions to the growing problem of destructive elk tearing down fences, depredating ranch haystacks and pushing beef cows and calves off their feed." — The Challis (Idaho) Messenger, 10 Nov. 2016 |
| Definition | 1 : to lay waste : plunder, ravage 2 : to engage in plunder |
Tags: wordoftheday::verb
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