English
desolation
Desolation comes from Latin dēsōlō ‘to leave alone’, and goes back to sōlus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlus‘alone, sole, only, by oneself with no others around’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsōlō‘to leave alone’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsōlātiō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400desolacion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500desolacioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1611desolation
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlus‘alone, sole, only, by oneself with no others around’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsōlō‘to leave alone’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsōlātiō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400desolacion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500desolacioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1611desolation
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’
such, self, suicide, idiot, sans, swain, idiocy, sere, 20 more
through Latin sōlus ‘alone, sole, only, by oneself with no others…’
solo, sole, solitary, solitude, solitaire, sullen, solus, 5 more
Today it means
noun The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin sōlus / desolation