Etymology 1
From Middle English wast, waste (“a waste”, noun), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast, waste (“a waste”), from Frankish *wōstī (“a waste”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstaz,[1] *wōstuz,[2] from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty, wasted”).
Displaced native Old English essian and strȳndan. Largely overtook Old English forspillan and weste.
Noun
waste (countable and uncountable, plural wastes)
- Excess of material, useless by-products, or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
- Excrement or urine.
The cage was littered with animal waste.
- A wasteland; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.
- A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.
- A large tract of uncultivated land.
- (historical) The part of the land of a manor (of whatever size) not used for cultivation or grazing, nowadays treated as common land.
- A vast expanse of water.
- A disused mine or part of one.
- The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.
That was a waste of time!
Her life seemed a waste.
2023 March 22, Mike Esbester, “Staff, the public and industry will suffer”, in RAIL, number 979, page 39:'Rebel railwaymen' at Birmingham New Street refused to wear the new uniforms on the grounds that they were a "complete waste of public money".
- Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.
- Gradual loss or decay.
- A decaying of the body by disease; atrophy; wasting away.
- (rare) Destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; see "to lay waste".
- (law) A cause of action which may be brought by the owner of a future interest in property against the current owner of that property to prevent the current owner from degrading the value or character of the property, either intentionally or through neglect.
- (geology) Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea.
Descendants
- → Japanese: ウエス (uesu)
- → Wu: 違司 / 违司 (we⁶-sy¹)
Translations
useless by-products, garbage
- Azerbaijani: tullantı
- Bulgarian: отпадък (bg) m (otpadǎk)
- Czech: odpad (cs) m
- Danish: affald (da) n
- Dutch: afval (nl), rommel (nl), vuil (nl)
- Esperanto: rubo
- Finnish: jäte (fi)
- French: (please verify) ordures (fr) f pl, (please verify) déchets (fr) m pl
- German: Müll (de) m, Abfall (de) m, Ausschuss (de) m
- Greek: απόρριμμα (el) n (apórrimma), σκουπίδι (el) n (skoupídi)
- Hebrew: אבטלה (he) f (avtalah)
- Hungarian: hulladék (hu)
- Icelandic: drasl (is) n, rusl (is) n, sorp (is) n
- Irish: dríodar m
- Italian: rifiuto (it) m, scarto (it) m, immondizia (it) f (garbage)
- Japanese: ゴミ (ja) (gomi)
- Kurdish:
- Northern Kurdish: paşmayî (ku) f
- Latin: eiectamenta n pl
- Latvian: atkritumi m pl
- Luxembourgish: Offall (lb) m, Dreck m
- Malayalam: മാലിന്യം (ml) (mālinyaṁ)
- Maori: karaweta, paraweta, paranga, weta
- Middle English: wast
- Nepali: फोहोर (phohor), फोहर (phohar), कचरा (kacarā), कचर (ne) (kacar)
- Plautdietsch: Aufgank m
- Polish: śmieci pl
- Portuguese: lixo (pt) m, refugo (pt) m, dejeto (pt) m
- Romanian: deșeu (ro) n, gunoi (ro) n, rest (ro) n
- Russian: отбро́сы (ru) m pl (otbrósy)
- Scottish Gaelic: call m, sgudal m
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Roman: otpad (sh), smeće
- Spanish: desperdicio (es) m, desecho(s) m or m pl, basura (es) f, acribaduras (es) f pl, ahechadura(s) f or f pl, echadura(s) f or f pl
- Swedish: skräp (sv), avfall (sv)
- Tagalog: basura (tl)
- Telugu: చెత్త (te) (cetta)
- Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
- Turkish: atık (tr)
- Ukrainian: відхо́ди m pl (vidxódy), уті́ль (utílʹ), сміття́ n (smittjá)
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waste land, desolate region
- Bulgarian: пу́стош (bg) f (pústoš)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 荒地 (zh) (huāngdì)
- Danish: ødemark
- Dutch: woestenij (nl)
- Finnish: joutomaa (fi); erämaa (fi) (wilderness), autiomaa (fi) (desert)
- French: terrain vague (fr) m, terre en friche f, stérile (fr) m
- Galician: deserto (gl) m
- German: Einöde (de) f
- Hungarian: pusztaság (hu), puszta (hu), sivatag (hu)
- Italian: landa (it)
- Japanese: 荒れ地 (arechi)
- Maori: tuakau
- Middle English: wast
- Portuguese: deserto (pt) m, ermo (pt) m
- Romanian: deșert (ro) n, pustietate (ro) f
- Russian: пу́стошь (ru) f (pústošʹ)
- Sanskrit: मरु (sa) m (maru)
- Spanish: baldío (es) m, terreno baldío m, descampado (es) m, yermo (es) m, páramo (es) m, erial (es) m, andurrial m
- Swedish: ödemark (sv)
- Tagalog: desyerto, ulila
- Welsh: diffeithdir m
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place that has been laid waste
- Finnish: tuhoalue
- German: Saustall [vulgär]
- Ottoman Turkish: خراب (harab)
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large tract of uncultivated land
historical: unused part of the land of a manor
action of wasting, ineffective use
- Azerbaijani: israf, israfçılıq, bədxərclik, nahaq yerə sərf etmə, əbəs yerə sərf edilmə
- Bulgarian: загуба (bg) f (zaguba), прахосване (bg) n (prahosvane)
- Catalan: malbaratament (ca) m, pèrdua (ca) f
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 浪費 / 浪费 (zh) (làngfèi)
- Danish: spild n
- Dutch: verkwisting (nl), verspilling (nl)
- Finnish: tuhlaus
- French: gaspillage (fr) m
- German: Verschwendung (de) f, Vergeudung f
- Hebrew: אבטלה (he) f (avtalah)
- Hungarian: pazarlás (hu), pocsékolás (hu)
- Ido: eceso (io)
- Irish: vásta m
- Italian: spreco (it) m, sciupio (it) m, scialacquio (it) m, scialo (it) m, dispendio (it) m
- Japanese: 無駄 (ja) (むだ, muda), 無駄使い (むだづかい, muda-zukai), 浪費 (ja) (ろうひ, rōhi)
- Korean: 낭비 (ko) (nangbi) (South Korea), 랑비 (ko) (rangbi) (North Korea)
- Luxembourgish: Verschwendung f
- Middle English: wast
- Portuguese: desperdício (pt) m
- Romanian: irosire (ro) f, pierdere (ro) f
- Russian: растра́та (ru) f (rastráta), тра́та (ru) f (tráta)
- Scottish Gaelic: call m, ana-caitheamh m, cosg m
- Spanish: desperdicio (es) m, derroche (es) m, pérdida (es) f
- Swedish: spill (sv), slöseri (sv) n
- Tagalog: aksaya (tl), sayang (tl)
- Turkish: kayıp (tr)
- Uyghur: زايا (zaya)
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large abundance of something
decaying of the body by disease
— see also atrophy
destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disaster
legal: cause of action against degrading the value or character of a property
geology: material derived by erosion and carried to the sea
Translations to be checked
- Ido: (please verify) disip-ado
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Adjective
waste (comparative more waste, superlative most waste)
- (MTE, slang, derogatory) Useless and contemptible.
2017 March 18, “Free Smoke”, in More Life, performed by Drake:Niggas moves so waste / Please, come outside the house and show yourself / So I can say it to your face
2022 September 22, “ONTARIO PLACE”, in BADMAN, performed by Bert Le Plug:Waste / Don't talk to me / You're so waste
References
Guus Kroonen (2013) “*wōstu-”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 593: “*ueh₂s-tu-”
Etymology 2
From Middle English wast, waste (“waste”, adjective), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast (“waste”), from Frankish *wōstī (“waste, empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty, wasted”). Cognate with Old High German wuosti, wuasti (“waste, empty”), German wüst, Old Saxon wōsti (“desolate”), Old English wēste (“waste, barren, desolate, empty”).
Adjective
waste (comparative more waste, superlative most waste)
- (now rare) Uncultivated, uninhabited.
1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xvij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIII:SOo whanne syr Galahad was departed from the castel of maydens / he rode tyl he came to a waste forest / & there he mette with syre launcelot and syr Percyuale but they knewe hym not / for he was newe desguysed / Ryghte so syr launcelot his fader dressid his spere and brake it vpon syr Galahad- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- Barren; desert; empty.
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto III:‘The stars,’ she whispers, ‘blindly run;
A web is wov’n across the sky;
From out waste places comes a cry,
And murmurs from the dying sun: […]
2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 255:For centuries the shrine at Mecca had been of merely local importance, far outshone by the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, whose cult Christians had in good measure renewed by their pilgrimage in honour of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, while leaving the actual site of the Jerusalem Temple dishonoured and waste.
- Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.
2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.
- Superfluous; needless.
- Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
- Unfortunate; disappointing. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Usage notes
Same meanings as wasted.
Translations
barren
- Bulgarian: пустинен (bg) (pustinen), необработен (bg) (neobraboten)
- Dutch: woest (nl), braakliggend (nl)
- Finnish: karu (fi)
- German: wüst (de), öde (de), brach (de)
- Hungarian: puszta (hu), kietlen (hu)
- Ido: nekultivita (io)
- Italian: incolto (it), deserto (it), arido (it)
- Japanese: 荒れた (areta)
- Middle English: wast
- Romanian: deșert (ro), pustiu (ro), sterp (ro)
- Scottish Gaelic: fàs
- Swedish: öde (sv)
- Tagalog: baog, tigang (tl), pagang
- Ukrainian: пу́стка f (pústka)
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Etymology 3
From Middle English wasten (“to waste, lay waste”), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French waster (“to waste, devastate”) (compare also the variant gaster and French gâter from a related Old French word); the Anglo-Norman form waster was either from Frankish *wōstijan (“to waste”), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- (“empty, wasted”), or alternatively from Latin vastāre and influenced by the Frankish; the English word was assisted by similarity to native Middle English westen ("to waste"; > English weest). Cognate with Old High German wuostan, wuastan, wuostjan (“to waste”) (Modern German wüsten), Old English wēstan (“to lay waste, ravage”).
Verb
waste (third-person singular simple present wastes, present participle wasting, simple past and past participle wasted)
- (transitive) To devastate; to destroy.
1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:The Tiber / Insults our walls, and wastes our fruitful grounds.
- (transitive) To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.
We wasted millions of dollars and several years on that project.
c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vi], lines 812–813:I like this place, / And willingly could waste my time in it.
2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):A “moving platform” scheme […] is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. […] This set-up solves several problems […]. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?
1909, Francis Galton, Memories of my life, page 69:E. Kay (1822-1897), afterwards Lord Justice of Appeal, had rooms on the same staircase as myself, and we wasted a great deal of time together, both in term and in my second summer vacation. .
- (transitive, slang) To kill; to murder.
- (transitive) To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to deteriorate; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.
1769, William Robertson, The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] W. and W. Strahan, for W[illiam] Strahan, T[homas] Cadell, […]; and J. Balfour, […], →OCLC:Wasted by such a course of life, the infirmities of age daily grew on him.
- (intransitive) To gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
- (intransitive) To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.
- (law) To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.
Conjugation
More information infinitive, present tense ...
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Translations
- Asturian: españar
- Bulgarian: развалям (bg) (razvaljam), опустошавам (bg) (opustošavam)
- Catalan: destruir (ca)
- Dutch: verwoesten (nl)
- Estonian: raiskama (et)
- Finnish: tuhota (fi)
- French: détruire (fr), dévaster (fr)
- German: verwüsten (de)
- Italian: distruggere (it), devastare (it)
- Japanese: 潰す (ja) (tsubusu)
- Latgalian: sajaukt, izgubeit
- Latvian: izpostīt, izputināt
- Middle English: wasten
- Portuguese: destruir (pt), devastar (pt)
- Romanian: distruge (ro), devasta (ro)
- Russian: разрушать (ru) (razrušatʹ), разорять (ru) (razorjatʹ), опустошать (ru) (opustošatʹ)
- Swedish: ödelägga (sv), föröda (sv)
- Tagalog: sirain, wasakin, gibain, puksain, lipulin, pinsalain, buwagin, iwalat, gunawing, pagtalikupan, ilugso, matupok, ilagpag, tibagin (tl), iguho, lumansag, paguhuin
- Ukrainian: спусто́шувати (spustóšuvaty)
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to squander
- Armenian: վատնել (hy) (vatnel)
- Bulgarian: прахосвам (bg) (prahosvam), пилея (bg) (pileja)
- Catalan: malgastar (ca), malbaratar (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 浪費 / 浪费 (zh) (làngfèi), 白費 / 白费 (zh) (báifèi)
- Dutch: verspillen (nl), verkwisten (nl), vermorsen (nl), verdoen (nl), verklungelen (nl)
- Esperanto: malŝpari
- Finnish: hukata (fi), tuhlata (fi)
- French: gaspiller (fr), gâcher (fr), perdre (fr)
- German: verschwenden (de), vergeben (de), verschenken (de), vergeuden (de)
- Gothic: 𐌳𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌷𐌾𐌰𐌽 (distahjan)
- Hungarian: pazarol (hu), elveszteget (hu)
- Ingrian: mänettää
- Irish: meath, meil (time)
- Italian: sperperare (it), sprecare (it)
- Japanese: 無駄にする (muda ni suru), ふいにする (fui ni suru)
- Khmer: ខ្ជះខ្ជាយ (km) (khcĕəh khciəy)
- Korean: 낭비하다 (ko) (nangbihada)
- Lao: ຜານ (phān)
- Latin: prōdigō
- Latvian: izšķiest
- Maori: maumau, tōtōa
- Middle English: wasten
- Ngazidja Comorian: ulatsa
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: ødsle (no), ødsle bort (no), forspille, sløse bort (no), skusle bort, sette over styr (no)
- Old English: forspillan
- Oromo: baraaxuu
- Polish: marnować (pl)
- Portuguese: desperdiçar (pt)
- Romanian: irosi (ro), pierde (ro), risipi (ro)
- Russian: тра́тить (ru) impf (trátitʹ), транжи́рить (ru) impf (tranžíritʹ), расточа́ть (ru) impf (rastočátʹ)
- Spanish: malgastar (es), desperdiciar (es)
- Swedish: förspilla (sv), förslösa (sv), slösa (sv),öda (sv)
- Tagalog: sayangin, maglustay, iwaldas, aksayahin, mag-aksaya
- Telugu: వృధా చేయు (vr̥dhā cēyu)
- Thai: เสีย (th) (sǐia), เสียเปล่า, ผลาญ (th) (plǎan)
- Turkish: harcamak (tr), çarçur etmek (tr)
- Ukrainian: витрача́ти (vytračáty), тра́тити (trátyty), марнотра́тити (marnotrátyty)
- Walloon: furler (wa), kischirer (wa)
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slang: to kill
- Bulgarian: убивам (bg) (ubivam)
- Dutch: koud maken (nl)
- Finnish: listiä (fi)
- French: tuer (fr)
- German: töten (de), kalt machen (Slang)
- Italian: uccidere (it), ammazzare (it), fare fuori (it)
- Middle English: wasten
- Portuguese: matar (pt)
- Romanian: ucide (ro), omorî (ro)
- Russian: гро́хать (ru) impf (gróxatʹ), гро́хнуть (ru) pf (gróxnutʹ), укоко́шить (ru) pf (ukokóšitʹ), ко́кнуть (ru) pf (kóknutʹ), замочи́ть (ru) pf (zamočítʹ)
- Swedish: spilla (sv), förspilla (sv)
- Tagalog: patayin, puksain, kitilin, likidahin, ligpitin
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Translations to be checked