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”).
1
To devastate, destroy or lay waste to something.
Already Cæſar Has ravaged more than half the Globe, and ſees Mankind grown thin by his deſtructive Sword: Should he go further, Numbers would be wanting To form new Battels, and ſupport his Crimes.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:
But the most important service which Probus rendered to the republic was the deliverance of Gaul, and the recovery of seventy flourishing cities oppressed by the barbarians of Germany, who, since the death of Aurelian, had ravaged that great province with impunity.1776, Edward Gibbon, chapter XII, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, pages 334–335:
1 more example
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.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, book IX, paragraph 1, page 87:
And luck in all its moods had to be loved and not feared. Bond saw luck as a woman, to be softly wooed or brutally ravaged, never pandered to or pursued. But he was honest enough to admit that he had never yet been made to suffer by cards or by women.1953, Ian Fleming, “Rouge et Noir”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 48:
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”).
1
Grievous damage or havoc.
Would one think 'twere possible for love / To make such ravage in a noble soul!1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 35:
2
Depredation or devastation.
the ravages of fire or tempest
the ravages of an army
4 more examples
the ravages of time
the ravage of a lion
The villages on either side of the Meyn, which were plentifully stored with corn and cattle, felt the ravages of an invading army.1781, Edward Gibbon, chapter XIX, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume II, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 172:
[…]and another Swedish naturalist remarks, that so great are the powers of propagation of a single species, even of the smallest insects, that each can commit, when required, more ravages than the elephant.1835, Charles Lyell, chapter VIII, in Principles of Geology […] , 4th edition, volume III, London: John Murray, Book III, page 114: