Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ravage"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ravage \Rav"age\ (?; 48), n. [F., fr. (assumed) L. rapagium,
rapaticum, fr. rapere to carry off by force, to ravish. See
{Rapacious}, {Ravish}.]
Desolation by violence; violent ruin or destruction;
devastation; havoc; waste; as, the ravage of a lion; the
ravages of fire or tempest; the ravages of an army, or of
time.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ravage \Rav"age\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ravaged}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Ravaging}.] [F. ravager. See {Ravage}, n.]
To lay waste by force; to desolate by violence; to commit
havoc or devastation upon; to spoil; to plunder; to consume.
Already C[ae]sar Has ravaged more than half the globe.
--Addison.
His lands were daily ravaged, his cattle driven away.
--Macaulay.
Syn: To despoil; pillage; plunger; sack; spoil; devastate;
desolate; destroy; waste; ruin.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ravage
n : (usually plural) a destructive action; "the ravages of time"
v 1: make a pillaging or destructive raid on (a place), as in
wartimes [syn: {harry}]
2: devastate or ravage; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside
after the invasion" [syn: {lay waste to}, {waste}, {devastate},
{desolate}]
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