waste English · revision 3103

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la vāstus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /weɪst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|wasten]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|xno|waster]], Old North French waster “to waste, spoil, ruin” (Old French gaster, modern French gâter),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|vāstāre|t=to lay waste]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) altered under the influence of [[m|frk|*wōstjan]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|vāstus|t=empty, desolate]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Watkins derives vāstus from [[ine-pro|*eue-|t=to leave, abandon]].^(Etymonline) The noun and adjective are from Old North French wast, waste, partly from Latin vāstum.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) The Germanic word existed in Old English as wēstan “to lay waste”, which the borrowing replaced.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Spanish gastar and Italian guastare also come from it.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb, “to devastate, ravage”: probably before 1200, in Layamon,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The noun, wild uncultivated land, is from about 1200.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Useless spending or consumption is from 1297 in the OED^(OED 1989) and about 1300 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to lose strength, pine away” from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and “to squander” from 1340, in the ''Ayenbite of Inwyt'',^(Barnhart 1988) as in ''waste time'' (mid-14th century).^(Etymonline) The adjective, of land, “desolate, uncultivated”, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and “superfluous” from about 1400.^(Etymonline) Refuse or useless material is from about 1400 in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and the late 17th century in Word Origins.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Lay waste'' is from the early 16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Waste-paper'' is from the 1580s, ''waste not, want not'' from 1778,^(Etymonline) and ''wastebasket'' by 1826.^(Etymonline) The slang sense “to kill” is from 1964.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – verb, to devastate.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – noun, wild land.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1297 – useless spending.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – to pine away.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1340 – to squander.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – refuse matter.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 16th century – ''lay waste''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1778 – ''waste not, want not''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1964 – to kill (slang).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To use or spend carelessly or uselessly; to [[squander]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To fail to use: ''waste an opportunity''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To lose strength or flesh, often with ''away''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To [[devastate]] or destroy.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # ''(slang)'' To kill.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Careless or useless spending.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Unwanted material; [[refuse]] or [[rubbish]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A wide empty area of land or water.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of land, empty and not farmed.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Thrown away as useless: ''waste paper''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[wastable]]

+ * [[wasteless]]

+ * [[wasteful]]

+ * [[wastebasket]]

+ * [[wastelot]]

+ * [[wastepaper]]

+ * [[nonwasting]]

+ * [[unwasted]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vast]]

+ * [[devastate]]

+ * [[wasteland]]

+ * [[vain]]

+ * [[vacant]]

+ * [[vacuum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}