Where does “desolation” come from?
Desolation comes from Old French desolacion, from Latin desolatio (a noun formed with the suffix -tio from de- and the root swé-, meaning to leave alone or abandon), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European de and swé with the suffix -ós.
desolation (English): The act of desolating or laying waste;...
Definitions
- The act of desolating or laying waste;...
Ancestry of “desolation”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | desolacion | — |
| 2 | Latin | desolatio | desolation; desert; solitude |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |