damage
verbEtymology From Middle English damage, from Old French damage, from Vulgar Latin *damnāticum from Classical Latin damnum. Compare modern French dommage. Largely displaced native Middle English scath (whence unscathed). Cognate with Spanish daño, Portuguese dano, Italian danno, French dam, Romanian daună.
1
To impair the soundness, goodness, or value of; to harm or cause destruction.
- Be careful not to damage any of the fragile items while unpacking them.
- Cold temperatures, heavy rain, falling rocks, strong winds and glacier movement can damage the equipment.
2 more examples
- The building was erected in two years, at the parochial expence, on the foundation of the former one, which was irreparably damaged by the hurricane of Auguſt, 1712.1774, Edward Long, The History of Jamaica. Or, General Survey of the Antient and Modern State of that Island, volume 2, book 2, chapter 7, 5:
- He […] came up to the English admiral and gave him a broadside, with which he killed many of his men and damaged the ship.1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater:
2
Obsolete To undergo damage; to take damage.
3
To remove a damaged or unsalable item from the sales floor for processing.
- Did you damage the items that the customer returned yet?
- Derived terms
- damageability, damageable, damager, redamage, undamaged