dispeople

English

Etymology

From dis- +‎ people.

Verb

dispeople (third-person singular simple present dispeoples, present participle dispeopling, simple past and past participle dispeopled)

1. (transitive) To empty of people or inhabitants.
   • a. 1675, John Milton, Observations on the Articles of Peace; republished in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], volume II, Amsterdam [actually London: s.n.], 1698, →OCLC, page 546:

     [...] the poſſeſſion of all thoſe Townes and Countries within thir now Quarters, being little leſs than the Iland, beſides what thir Cruelty hath diſpeopl'd and lay'd waſt.

Synonyms

• depopulate

Derived terms

• dispeoplement
• dispeopler

 

References

• Chambers's Etymological Dictionary, 1896, p. 131