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Today it means

waste

to use carelessly; unwanted material

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Where does the word "waste" come from? It comes from Latin vastus, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

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Where does the word "waste" come from? It comes from Latin vastus, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

Waste’s story begins in Latin: vastus meant “empty, desolate.” The root of 'vast' and 'devastate'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as wast. Frankish 'wosti' gave the w-sound. It reached English by 1200s as waste. 'waste of time' dates from the 1500s. Today, waste means to use carelessly; unwanted material.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient vastus "empty, desolate", the root of 'vast' and 'devastate'.
  2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval wast "desolate land", Frankish 'wosti' gave the w-sound.
  3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s waste "wild land; to squander", 'waste of time' dates from the 1500s.

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