ravage

See also: ravagé

English

Etymology

From French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹævɪdʒ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

ravage (third-person singular simple present ravages, present participle ravaging, simple past and past participle ravaged)

1. (transitive) To devastate or destroy something.
   • 1937, Josephus; Ralph Marcus, transl., chapter VIII, in Josephus: With an English Translation (Loeb Classical Library), volume VI (Jewish Antiquities), London: William Heinemann Ltd.; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, published 1958, OCLC 768288966, book IX, paragraph 1, page 87:

     Now Azaēlos, the king of Syria, made war on the Israelites and their king Jehu, and ravaged the eastern parts of the country across the Jordan […] spreading fire everywhere and plundering everything and inflicting violence on all who fell into his hands.

2. (transitive) To pillage or sack something, to lay waste to something.
3. (intransitive) To wreak destruction.
4. (slang) To have vigorous sexual intercourse with.
5. (slang) To rape.

Related terms

• rapid

Translations

to devastate or destroy something

• Arabic: اِجْتَاحَ‎ (ijtāḥa), خَرَبَ‎ (ḵaraba)
• Azerbaijani: dağıtmaq (az), xaraba qoymaq, viran etmək, yixmaq
• Bulgarian: разрушавам (bg) (razrušavam)
• Danish: ødelægge (da)
• Dutch: verwoesten (nl), teisteren (nl)
• Finnish: tuhota (fi), hävittää (fi)
• French: ravager (fr)
• Galician: estragar (gl)
• Greek:

  Ancient: λυμαίνομαι (lumaínomai)

• Italian: devastare (it), distruggere (it)
• Latin: populor, vastō, dēvastō
• Persian: منهدم کردن‎ (monhadem kardan)
• Portuguese: devastar (pt)
• Russian: опустоша́ть (ru) (opustošátʹ)
• Spanish: estragar (es)
• Swedish: härja (sv), ödelägga (sv)
• Turkish: yıkmak (tr), tahrip etmek (tr)

to pillage or sack something, to lay waste to something

• Bulgarian: опустошавам (bg) (opustošavam)
• Danish: plyndre
• Latin: populor
• Portuguese: saquear (pt)
• Romanian: prăda (ro)

• Turkish: yağmalamak (tr), yakıp yıkmak (tr)

to wreak destruction

• Danish: ødelægge (da)
• Finnish: hävittää (fi)
• Portuguese: arruinar (pt)

Noun

ravage (plural ravages)

1. Grievous damage or havoc.
   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, OCLC 79426475, Act I, scene iii, page 2:

     Would one think 'twere possible for love / To make such ravage in a noble soul!

2. Depredation or devastation

   the ravage of a lion; the ravages of fire or tempest; the ravages of an army, or of time

Translations

grievous damage or havoc

• Bulgarian: разруха (bg) f (razruha)
• Danish: ødelæggelse c
• Finnish: tuho (fi), hävitys (fi)
• Occitan: ravatge m

• Portuguese: estrago (pt)
• Romanian: ravagiu (ro) n
• Spanish: estrago (es) m
• Turkish: hasar (tr), yıkım (tr), tahribat (tr), tahrip (tr)

depredation or devastation

• Bulgarian: опустошение (bg) n (opustošenie)
• Danish: ødelæggelse c
• Finnish: tuho (fi), hävitys (fi)
• Italian: devastazione (it)

• Portuguese: devastação (pt) f
• Romanian: ravagiu (ro) n, devastare (ro) f
• Turkish: hasar (tr), tahribat (tr), tahrip (tr), yıkım (tr)

Further reading

• ravage in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• ravage in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌraːˈvaː.ʒə/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ra‧va‧ge
• Rhymes: -aːʒə

Noun

ravage f (plural ravages)

1. havoc, damage

Anagrams

• gevaar

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French

Etymology

From ravine (“rush of water”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁa.vaʒ/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

ravage m (plural ravages)

1. singular of ravages
2. (archaic) the act of laying waste

Verb

ravage

1. inflection of ravager:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “ravage”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• gavera