Where does “desolate” come from?
desolate (Middle English) comes from Latin desolatus, from Latin dēsōlō, from Latin dē-, from Latin dē, from Latin post, from Latin poste, from Proto-Italic posti, from Proto-Indo-European pósti — afterwards, post; by, at.
Ancestry of “desolate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | desolatus | forsaken, abandoned, deserted, left alone, having... |
| 2 | Latin | dēsōlō | to leave alone, make lonely, lay waste, desolate |
| 3 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 4 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 5 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 6 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |