Vastus

The Latin word “vāstus” means “empty” or “vast”, from which some basic English words are derived: “waste”, “vast”, “devastate”, etc.

According to the OED, waste comes from vāstus via the Spanish word “gastar”, meaning “spend” or “waste”. This reminds me of the fact that the English spelling “w” sometimes corresponds to the Spanish spelling “g (gu)” (e.g. guerra (war), garantía (warranty or guarantee)). Also, to be sure, the Latin letter “v” represents /u/ or /w/ sound.

Devastate is the combination of the intensifying prefix “de-“ (e.g. defraud) and vāstus, and this is totally understandable if you imagine a devastated city or something, which is vast and empty. I personally feel that knowing this origin reduces the probability of typing “devestate”¹ by mistake.

• “waste, v.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2021. Web. 19 November 2021.
• “devastate, v.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2021. Web. 19 November 2021.