De*pop"u*late (?), v. t. [imp.
& p. p. Depopulated (?); p. pr. & vb.
n. Depopulating (?).] [L. depopulatus, p. p.
of depopulari to ravage; de- + populari to
ravage, fr. populus people: cf. OF. depopuler, F.
dépeupler. See People.] To deprive of
inhabitants, whether by death or by expulsion; to reduce greatly the
populousness of; to dispeople; to unpeople.
Where is this viper,
That would depopulate the city?
Shak.
&fist; It is not synonymous with laying waste or
destroying, being limited to the loss of inhabitants; as, an army or
a famine may depopulate a country. It rarely expresses an
entire loss of inhabitants, but often a great diminution of their
numbers; as, the deluge depopulated the earth.
De*pop"u*late, v. i. To become
dispeopled. [R.]
Whether the country be depopulating or
not.
Goldsmith.
