What does desolate mean in old English?

The adjective desolate means ‘lonely’ or ‘devastated’. It is a very old word, first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon period, and is still used today. The OED says it comes from the Latin word for a deserted or uninhabited place, solitus.

What does desolate mean in French?

The French word délétère refers to something that is irritating or unpleasant. If something is desolate, it is also unpleasant and annoying, as is the English word.

What does desolate mean in Italian?

The Latin “desolare” once meant “to make desolate”. It’s the same root as the English “desolate”. But the meaning of “desolate” in the modern English has changed. It no longer refers to a physical condition or an area, but to the state of being alone and unfriended.

What does desolate mean in Japanese?

The English word desolate is often used in situations that describe a landscape, or entire geographic location, which is empty and, usually, unwanted (or overgrown). It’s not just a word for “lonely” or “deserted” though, as it can also apply to a specific area that is an eyesore or blight on an otherwise beautiful landscape.

What does desolate mean in Latin?

In old English, desolate means “bare” or “uncultivated”. The word is related to the word silva, meaning forest or wood, and this is the source of the word in French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. So, desolate in the middle ages referred to an area of woodland that had been cleared for agriculture.