depredation

See also: déprédation

English

Etymology

From Middle French déprédation, itself from Latin depraedatio

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌdɛpɹəˈdeɪʃən/

Noun

depredation (countable and uncountable, plural depredations)

  1. An act of consuming agricultural resources (crops, livestock), especially as plunder.
    • 2003, The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation, by R. Sukumar, page 299:
      Depredation of cultivated crops by elephants is widespread in both Africa and Asia.
  2. A raid or predatory attack.
    Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman had long known that his fragile supply and communication lines through Tennessee were in serious jeopardy because of depredations by Forrest's cavalry raids. (Battle of Brice's Crossroads)

Translations

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.